Packing your food daily = Saving Money and Eating Healthier!

I have been a lunch and snack packer for so long!

It started out because I wanted to save money because I was tired of being broke. 

So everyday for the past 12 years or so I pack food.

I pack my daughter, my husband, and my snacks before we leave the house every single day. (Oh. And waters)... 

I haven't had any type of fast food in over 2 decades and my 5 year old has never had fast food. NEVER! 

I know to some this seems crazy...but she also has never had any type of soda. Not even a sip. 

So not only does this save a ton of money...But I never have to stop and buy food or waters when we are out and about...time saver! 

PLUS the main reason is so that I know exactly what we are eating...what nutrients we are getting...

And hello have you ever been around a hungry kid or husband? 

Ummmm....it's not a good scene! 

It takes me about 3 minutes to do this...it's so simple.

I cut her organic apples...grapes....

She still loves squeezies.....so I pack them daily..(I look for ones that are fruit and veggie Puree not juice.
Peter Rabbit Organics, Carrot, Squash and Apple Puree
Plum Organics Just Veggies Sweet Potato

Bananas.

Justin's  - if you haven't tried these you are missing out!
Justin's Almond Butter - DELISH!!! 

Organic cashews

Raw Walnut

Veggie-Go's

Pogo BPA-Free Plastic Water Bottle  - these are my favs! Mainly because they hold 40 ounces and not just 32. 

Snack on!

Save money!

Eat well! 

Eat real foods! 

I can't outwork my fork

When I finally realized that I couldn't out run.....out lift.....out step mill....out workout....my food and fork...

Everything finally clicked!

My husband....the fitness guru...had been telling me this for years....

I had had many trainers tell me this in the past including Dominic and Tarik...

But 

A. I didn't want t hear it

B. I didn't believe them

C. I didn't want to hear it 

What this means is I can't eat a whole pizza and then go run 5 miles the next day to negate the pizza calories.

I can't eat 1400 calories of jelly beans and then do the step mill for 90 minutes to try and burn off the jelly beans.

It just doesn't work this way.

That's why I have a cheat meal or treat once a week read more about that Here...so I don't feel deprived of my favorites.

It also allows me to workout and feel so much better. I don't have the sugar highs and bonks like I used to.

It's is such a simple concept with a huge meaning! 

Once it clicked with me everything started to fall into place. 

The Importance of Cheat Meals

To keep me sane I have one cheat meal a week. 

I do this not only during "show" prep but just life.

I eat healthy. Clean. Fresh. Organic. No soy. No gluten. Tons of veggies. Fruit. Fish only. Day in and day out 5x a day. 

But on either Friday or SaturdaysI have one cheat meal and/or treat. Occasionally both. 

I honestly would rather have a cheat "treat"....chocolate bar than a cheat "meal". 

Post show I had a full week where I had a chocolate bar or two every single night! 

Plus 2 cheat meals...one right after the show of chips and artichoke dip and one Pei Wei salt laden yummieness. 

I fully believe that once people reach their goal...whether it's a weight loss goal or a fitness goal....marathon ...whatever ....that you deserve a cheat meal or treat. 

Now that being said I don't think it should be a cheat day! 

A day is too much...it's too easy to go crazy...that's a whole days worth of calories...food...nutrition...fats...carbs...

I think that once you are where you want to be weight wise...that you should allow yourself a cheat meal/treat. 

I believe it helps you to 

A. Not go crazy

B. Reset your metabolism so that your body doesn't get used to eating the same thing day in and day out...

C. Gives you something to look forward to

D. Helps you to not feel deprived 

E. Did I mention not go crazy? 😉

Now I will say that during show prep I cut out all cheats 3 weeks prior to the show. 

So pick your day...pick your cheat meal and go for it! 

Then your next meal you should be right back on your regular schedule. 

Photo on left was 1 day before first show...weight 119.4

Right photo was after many cheats 3 wks post show...weight 122.

I took off 10 full days. 

Photo on right is after 1 week of working out again, 

I had no heels on and bikini is straight across making body appear wider. 

So waist wider. Abs not as tight. Legs a bit puffy.

Show ready photo was first thing in am.

Right was after 2 meals and 2 snacks. 

Overall not bad. 

Let's get Real about food!

So going into this show I knew that I wanted do it as healthy as I could being that I have such a horrible stomach...read more about that...Here I didn't want to do any crazy things that would mess up my metabolism. I didn't want to starve. I wanted to eat whole real food.

I also knew though that I needed to add more protein to my diet but how could I do that without eating beef, pork, chicken, or turkey...as I only eat fish. 

So let's go back in time to when I decided I wanted to do a NPC bikini show...

June of 2014 I tried many many many different kinds of protein powders to mix in with my daily smoothie....whey and vegan. All they did was blow my stomach up to where I looked 6 months pregnant. It would then take a week to get my stomach readjusted. It was awful!

I did the same with protein bars...tried vegan and whey versions and all they did was wreck my stomach. 

I also tried adding more food to my diet...more calories...but again it just messed me up. 

So after about 6 weeks of trial and error I just thought well I'm gonna do the best I can with my current diet and see where it takes me. 

I then just threw caution to the wind and decided to do it my own way. 

No beef.

No pork.

No chicken. 

No turkey.

No protein powders.

No protein bars. 

No extra food.

Nothing. 

Nada.

I did it my own way. 

My own food.

My own diet. 

So many of these competition diets/preps don't allow most of the foods that I ate and currently eat.

For example fruit...I ate it every single day thruout my entire prep time...even Peak Week! 

Here's an example of what I ate during my prep and what I currently eat.

Breakfast 

Food For Life Baking Organic Ezekiel 4:9 - Cinnamon Raisin Whole Grain Flourless Bread, 24 Ounce 

Kerrygold Naturally Softer Pure Irish Butter

Mid morn snack

Banana

Enjoy Life Decadent Bars

Lunch

Tuna

Slice of horizon cheese

Cup of organic berries

Fage yogurt

Mid afternoon snack

Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter

Food To Live ® Organic Cashews

Dinner

Two whole organic eggs 

Horizon cheese

Two cups of kale, spinach, arugula 

Thank you for supporting my blog. By clicking on the links and making purchases ....you are contributing to my little life. And I thank you! 

Follow up to my tummy troubles - what I eat

If you missed my post on IBS read it Here...

This is what I eat now following my FOD MAPS diet...

Breakfast within 30 minutes of waking...

I still eat 3 slices of Ezekial Cinnamon Bread with Kerrygold butter, stevia, and cinnamon

(The EZ bread does not negatively affected my stomach I am assuming because it is made from sprouted grains)  Buy Ezekiel bread here...I buy mine by the case and freeze them.

Coffee - about 16 ounces with Almond milk, stevia, and cinnamon Buy Stevia Raw Sweetener here...it is the only sweetener I use!  

Mid- Morn Snack 

Banana (I dont eat organic bananas bc I feel that the peel protects what I am eating)

Bar ... I love to eat something crunchy and dense for my mid morning snack....these are gluten free and fabulous tasting! I love a nut butter bar! Buy Sunbutter bar here. 

Lunch

Some type of fish - typically tuna with a slice of organic cheese

Yogurt with blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries - a cup total of berries...organic of course! 

Mid afternoon snack before workout

Cashews, almonds, walnuts...Buy Organic cashews ...Organic walnuts...Organic almonds. I buy these in bulk...less grocery time..and always have them in hand when I'm starving! 

I might eat my smoothie at this time - depending on how I am feeling?? 

Smoothie - Almond milk - PB2- I will use the PB2 if Ive already had the nuts listed above bc of the fat intake, same berries as with yogurt about a cup full. Buy PB2 here.

Dinner

2 full eggs yep yolk too!!  With 2 cups of kale/spinach and maybe a slice of organic cheese.

OR

Fish - Wild caught Cod, Tuna, Salmon - one of these with spinach/kale as my salad

100-125 ounces of plain ole water everyday

One day a week typically Saturdays I have a "cheat meal" not cheat day....just a cheat meal. I eat whatever I want for that meal with dessert! 

For me this has to happen! It helps me to stay clean thruout the week...also makes me NOT go crazy! I have to eat something out of my element 1x per week! Have to! 

Thats it!  

This diet to me is a good way to keep my tummy troubles at bay and it is extremely nutrient rich plant based...while some my not agree with my choices its what works for me...

Fod Maps Diet

Since I was 24 years old I have had stomach issues.

I have IBS...bloated belly...constipation...Sooo distended I look 7 months pregnant....yes very fun to talk about!! 

I have taken a ton of herbs...been to many doctors...tried different foods...been tested for food allergies...eliminated foods from my diet...every kind of med there is I've tried it...

And nothing really seemed to work! 

I had tests run to see if I had celiacs disease back in 2009.. And tested negative for it.

So now jump ahead to 2015...my daughter is 5... And I still was having stomach issues...

Pain...bloating...eat three bites and look pregnant....new meds...new over the counter...more yoga..relaxation...teas....still the same!! 

Sooo frustrating!! 

More food changes...nothing helped! 

Until I found this...

The FOD MAPS diet....FODMAPS...have you heard of it?? 

So I basically started to eliminate a few foods that potentially could be "triggers" for me..

It took me a few weeks to figure out exactly what was bothering me....

Here's what I "gave up" ...apples, grapes, Nature Valley Granola bars, a handful of wheat crackers I would eat at lunch, and fruit strips...so really not huge changes by any means. 

Yogurt and cheeses aka dairy were not triggers for me...meaning I had no stomach "blow up"... Aka the pregnant look. 

I did a ton of research to find natural, healthy options....took me several weeks of work...but wellllll worth it!!

I added these:

Enjoy life bars

more blackberries, blueberries, raspberries

Way Better Snacks Simply Tortilla Chips Sweet Potato when I'm wanting something crunchy

all nuts and seeds don't bother me unless I over indulge...so my  Raw Organic Cashews and Justin's Almond Butter, Vanilla Squeeze Packs are safe! 

I also added Heather's Tummy Tamers Peppermint oil, Align Probiotic Supplement, and Garden of Life RAW Enzymes Women ....which I think in conjunction with the food helped a ton!! 

And viola....NO STOMACH issues!! And it has been about 12 weeks now!! 

No pregnant belly!

No bloating!

No feeling like I just had a Thanksgiving meal! 

I encourage anyone who has been suffering with tummy troubles to try the FODMAPS...

Amazing!! 

Vitamins and supplements I take

For a very long time I never believed in taking any supplements or vitamins.

I believed that all they did was make expensive urine....meaning you take them and then pee them out.

Being that I am anti sun...and never expose myself to the suns harmful rays...

Read more about why I don't sun tan Here and read Here about how I deal with sun spots/sun damage.

Read Here about how I self tan.

Several years ago I had routine bloodwork done...the findings showed I had low Vitamin D. 

My doc prescribed a "mega" dose script of vitamin D....to be taken for two weeks. 

Then to maintain my levels...I first tried to go at it in a very natural way...10- 15 minutes of sunlight on my arms a few times a week, I also tried to eat more tuna, and cheese...being that I don't drink cows milk. But after about a week of getting a bit of sun on my arms...I started to freak out thinking I may also be causing more sun damage so I stopped the sun time. 

I had my blood redrawn in about 6 months and the findings again showed low levels.

So I decided to try vitamin d drops...but they were sooooo gross!

But then I found Nature Made vitamin d they are awesome! It's tastes like a little gummy bear! 

And I was happy to find out at my last doctor checkup my levels are normal! 

I also take  L'il Critters Gummy Vites Complete Children's Multivitamin, 275 Count as a multi daily vitamin...Pipiri takes these also. Again yummy little gummies! 

I take aAlign Probiotic  and NOW Foods Super Enzymes at breakfast....I truly do believe in both of 
these....both helping to keep your stomach nice and balanced.

And last but not least....I take Branch Chain Amino Acids NOW Foods Branch Chain Amino Acids
I take them post every workout. They help to keep the muscle I have worked so hard to build intact. 

I am NOT a doctor! These are the supplements and vitamins that I take!
My blog is just like having a conversation with a friend....it is my opinion and not to be used as medical advice. 

Cholesterol levels......adding fat to your diet...does it raise them?

So last year I made a huge change in my diet by giving up candy!

Ohhh candy my old friend! My friend in my pockets...my friend that was always there for me....my sugary deliciousness....yummy! 

Yep but I gave it up last year mid lent GONE! 

Read more about that Here and Here. 

So when I went to my doctor last year I had my cholesterol levels taken as I have for many years. 

They were the following...

Total cholesterol 188

Triglycerides 66

HDL 79

LDL 96

While yes all within in the normal range (read more about normal range levels Here) ....I thought they actually would be lower...hmmmmm me an over achiever even with cholesterol....ummm YES!

So this year after major dietary changes...giving up candy and all sugary desserts, adding wayyyy more fat to my diet...eggs including the yolk, real butter, adding more healthy fish... tons and tons of spinach, water cress, collard greens, greens greens greens....adding Grapeseed oil and continuing with olive oil....sautéing veggies in both of these oils....

Today my cholesterol levels were the following...

Total 183

Triglycerides 38 (28 points lower)

HDL 90 (11 points higher) 

LDL 85 (11 points lower) 

Yay! Proof is in the numbers!! All much better than last year! 

I love reverse aging! I love lowering my cholesterol thru diet! Over achiever yes!! 

Anything is possible! 

I never ever want to have to take pills for something that I can control thru my diet and working out and living a health lifestyle! Never! 

If I can you can!! 

Carbs! Yes I eat them!!

I hear Sooo many people talking about carbs so I just have to tell you what I think and what I eat.

Carbohydrates give you energy. Carbohydrates are not all "bad". Carbohydrates can and are very beneficial to you!

I love sweet potatoes and eat them daily. As well as fruit...bananas...blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries. While yes they have sugar it is naturally occurring sugars. Not added refined processed sugars. And yes these are all carbs!

What I stay away from are the so called "bad" carbs. White flour. White bread. White anything really. I don't eat any breads at all or crackers. I do eat Ezekial bread which is legume based...so it doesn't make your blood sugar spike and then bottom out. Making you feel shaky etc.

I also don't eat pasta. It just doesn't make me feel well. So I stay away from pastas. Perhaps a whole wheat pasta 1x a year but very rarely. 

And vegetables! I eat spinach, kale, arugula, watercress, broccoli, asparagus, peppers, carrots, onions...on and on...veggies are so great! Low cal...high nutritional value!! Eat up! And while yes they are carbs...they are just so healthy for you! 

For dinner I typically have mostly vegetables and a protein...such as fish or eggs. Yep the whole egg! 

So for those of you trying to lose a few pounds.,,yes you can eat carbs...just try to consume them in the morning and afternoon...tapering off thruout the day and having mainly veggies and protein at night. 

Oh and sorry people Wine is a carb! And yes it counts. 

So to sum up....eat fruit veggies and some whole grains. Leave the white flour and refined packaged foods alone. 

Stick with fresh whole fruits and veggies and you will be just fine.

The end! 

I said bye bye to many bad habits in 2014!!!!

Last year was a HUGE quit bad habits year!! HUGE!! 

CANDY/SUGAR

I wrote about my candy/sugar give up...read more about that....Here....Soo that one was huge for me. Now let me say that I do on occasion have a bite here and there of candy but I have not have one single jelly belly or York peppermint patty since giving it up mid way thru Lent last year!! Remember I lost 8 pounds doing so! 

PROPEL

I also gave up using Propel. I added propel to every single water I drank for over 12 years. I gave it up because of my wanting to stop all weird chemicals that I was consuming. And even though it was zero calories...it has some ingredients in it I can't pronounce so I quit it...cold turkey! I drink ALOT of water too....over 100 ounces daily! I said bye bye to propel around the same time as the candy...so very close to a year now.

Mexican food...chips and queso

I gave this up for several reasons. One is because I hate feeling awful the day after I eat it or actually a few hours after...the bloated groady horrible feeling. Two because I hate being up 4-5 pounds after one meal! I mean seriously this is ridiculous! The amount of salt that I must have been consuming made me blow up like crazy! Reason three food poisoning! My hubs and I both had gotten food poisoning  several times from Mexican food...so that's reason enough for me! Soo I completely quit all Mexican food after the last bout of food poisoning...around April. 

Coffee

Now let me start by saying that I have not given up coffe completely and I doubt I ever will. But I
have reduced the amount of coffee I have tremendously! Read more about that Here and Here...basically I used to fill the entire coffee filter up daily and would be jittery and feel terrible. So I quit this bad habit last year also. Now I add 3-4 teaspoons full of coffee only in the filter now and wow what a huge difference that has made. I am never jittery anymore! Bye bye heart palpitations! 

Protein Intake from a non meat eater!

Being that I don't eat any kind of meat...chicken, turkey, pork, or beef...or soy...people always ask me "How do you get enough protein".....

"Are you eating enough protein?"...

Protein protein protein! 

And then I start to panic a bit and think wow am I eating enough?? 

So tonight again I was asked the same question....

So I came home and quickly did a once over to what I had eaten today...and I have had 96 grams of protein today! 

Which is plenty for my body weight..
Whooshooo...thank goodness! ;)

Check out this excellent article from www.bodybuilding.com explaining protein...

Sooooo where does my protein come from since I consider myself an aquatarian (fish eater although I also eat eggs)... 

Tuna

Eggs

Tilapia 

Ezekial bread

Sweet potato

Kale

Spinach

Almond milk

Peanut butter

Cashews

Berries

Bananas

Bars

Cheese

Greek yogurt

Pecans

Rice

Sushi

Collard greens

And yes while most veggies and fruits have a small amount of protein they still have some....so it counts! 

Yay I'm ok with my protein intake are you?

How not to gain weight during holidays!

1. Keep up with your cardio workouts. Make sure you ar fitting in time for yourself and burning those extra calories.

2. Keep hydrated. Read  Here about how many ounces of water you should have per day. 

3. Eat before you go to the party. That way your not starving and eating every high caloric snack in sight.

4. Lift weights...do your strength training. You know how I feel about that! Lift lift lift! 

5. Get enough rest. 8 hours my friends! 

6. Did I mention...eat before the party? NEVER GO TO THE PARTY HUNGRY!!

7. Give the treats away that you receive as gifts! Regift!! Donate...give them away!!

8. Don't use "not enough time" as a crutch. Get up earlier....fit it in...just do your workouts.

9. Sure you can splurge occasionally but that is OCCASIONALLY not daily. A splurge to me is once a week or every two weeks.

10. Stress raises cortisol levels...relax and enjoy the holidays....do yoga...meditate...pray...:) 

Easy way to figure your daily hydration needs...aka WATER

Multiply your weight by .67

That's how many ounces per day you need of plain ole water...H2o..

If you do cardio or any activity where you are sweating...you need 12 more ounces per every hour of exercise. 

That's it! 

Drink up! 

No I don't drink

I don't drink alcohol.

I haven't in over 9 years.

My last sip was on my wedding day..I had champagne with my new hubs!

I don't drink because wayyy back when I started running..I began to notice that if I drank the night before it totally affected the way I ran the next day. So I started to really curtail any alcohol. Maybe 1-2 drinks a month.

When I met Brad we both tried to act "cool" with each other thinking that that the other was a partier...so we drank the first month or so when we started dating. 

But now he doesn't drink either. 

He has had two beers in 9 years. 

Plus I found out how many calories drinking really has. 

1 bottle of beer 100-150 calories

1 glass of wine (4 ounces) 100 calories

Margarita (3.5 ounces) 155 calories..plus tons of sugar!

I would much rather eat than drink my calories. 

I like to feel great everyday. 

I hate hangovers. 

And I like to be uber fit! 

Here's a challenge for you...weigh yourself today...stop drinking any alcohol for one week...drink 100 ounces of water daily...weigh yourself after the week. Bet your down a few. 

Now what if you did that for a month? Six? A year? Try it! 

Let me know how it goes!

If I can do it you can do it! 

Weight loss..

Whether you do spin, Barry's, Barre, Crossfit, or are a runner and weight lifter like me.. You have to have a great diet or the scale wont be moving! 

Diet is the most important thing for scale weight loss!! 

Eating clean, no sugar, no alcohol, tons of fresh veggies.. Low cal high nutrient foods are a must. 

Whats on my plate...

Breakfast - ezekial bread with kerrygold butter

Snack - banana with a greek yogurt maybe a bar if Im super hungry!

Lunch - tuna with a slice of provolone 

Cup of rasberries, grapes, strawberries, and blueberries

Snack - smoothie...PB2, almond milk, fresh fruits and veggies whaterev i have on hand

Dinner - 2 whole eggs with spinach, kale, swiss chard... And a sweet potato!!!

How I finally didn't gain 5 pounds on vaca...

Before I had Pipiri I used to gain 5 pounds every single time I went on vacation!

It drove me crazy! And I never could figure out why......

DUH....was it the ice cream I had nightly?

Or the enormous bag of candy I ate every single night...

or the chips and queso...? 

Or the lack of movement I did for a week. Basically sitting on my arse for 10 hours a day. While nice yes but not worth the 5 extra lbs.

May I add that this also happened to me at Christmas every year also. 

This year I was determined for it NOT to happen.  

But I also didn't want to spend my once a year vacation in the gym or feeling like I couldn't enjoy myself and have a treat with my family...a nice yummy meal or ice cream (which I haven't had since March).

As a parent I want my daughter to see me being active and making healthy food choices but also having fun and a treat occasionally. 

So this vaca I did just that. 

I paddle boarded for the very first time. It was awesome! I highly recommend trying it if you have not! You can see so far down in the ocean. We used them probably 10x during the week. Great caloric exercise without stepping foot in the gym!

Kayaking....this was incredible too! Kayaked at least 10x also! Very cool! Pipiri loved the kayak...she helped paddle.

Biked on the day it rained..10 miler. 

Walked every where...everyday. Long beach walks.....walking to shops....walking with my little one....walking to dinner....walking to explore....shell hunting....drift wood searching...playing in the sand....meeting friends...doing cartwheels...hand stands...jumping in waves....

But the main thing as always is the food! 

Florida has the absolute best fish and I took full advantage. 

Shrimp....grilled grouper...fresh crab....amazing sushi....all delicious! 

I also had a few awesome smoothies from the air streams on 30A. 

As for treats...I shared the yummiest artisan salted caramel Popsicle with my mini me! And in the evenings I had a few fireball candies. Maybe 10 total. 

So I didn't lift weights or go to the gym.

I ate pretty much like I always do...with a couple of treats. 

I didn't feel like I was missing out anything.

I still relaxed a lot and had a fabulous trip.

But the crazy thing is that when I got home I weighed and actually lost about 3 pounds. 

I know I didn't lose 3 pounds of fat or 3 pounds of muscle...both very difficult to do in just a week. So most likely just some water weight.

But sure it much better than gaining 5! 

Do you know PB2???

Love this stuff!!

 I put it in my smoothies...yogurt...sprinkle on ice cream as a treat...it's lower fat than regular peanut butters and just as equally delicious! Try it!

The little cookie thins are just as great! Plus you can eat a bunch without a ton of calories! Yay! 

PB2 Powder

Bell Plantation Peanut Butter Thins

Healthy snacks for on the go...no soy...organic...

I love fruits and veggies...and I eat tons daily...but to get my 4 year old to follow suite is another story.  She is a typical kid and turns up her nose and says things have "stuppy bites"...

We have a rule..she has to try one bite before she can say she doesn't like something.  I always put new foods on her plate several times a week. But there are always holes in her diet so I will fill them with healthy organic snacks. While yes they are packaged and processed...I have tried to include the most minimally processed yummy ones. 

Sweet potatoes Plum organics

Apple cinnamon quinoa Plum Organics

Larabar

Larabar

Stretch island fruit strips

Veggie go strips

YumEarth Organics Gummy Bears
YumEarth Organic Lollipops
GoGo Squeez appleapple
GoGo SqueeZ applecinnamon
GoGo SqueeZ AppleBanana
King Arthur Flour Muffin Mix
Musselmans Organic Apple Sauce