Healthy Eating

I have really been trying to get back into shape, after the wedding in October, I fell off the wagon. I had lost almost 20 pounds & then I just got lazy! Well, I got bronchitis & then I had the flu and right after that, I had shingles. I had shingles on my lower back and thigh area & I wasn't allowed to workout for 4-6 weeks. That was just awful & now I have gained every pound back. 

So, for the last week I have really been sticking to eating clean (with 1 cheat meal per week!). And my gym membership renews March 1st so I will be able to get back to working out. I'm a bridesmaid in my sister in laws wedding in August & I would LOVE to lose 20 (30 would be even better!) pounds by then. Just for the record, I'm 5'8" and clocking the scale at 160-165 pounds right now. That's super high but I was indulging on fast food & junk like it's my job. I find that if I prep the night before (or 2 nights before) it makes my life easier, I can just grab and go in the morning.

This is a typical breakfast & lunch for me. I usually eat vanilla greek yogurt with 100 grams of strawberries & 100 grams of blueberries for breakfast. I do switch it up though, some days I will have oatmeal with fruit, others I will have eggs & toast, it just depends on the day. Yogurt & fruit are ideal for work, I can grab it & eat it at my desk. I eat my breakfast late, I am not a morning person so I usually eat it around 1 pm. 

I eat 2 lunches, one at 3:30 pm, the other at 6 pm. I usually will snack on some celery or carrots in-between. Any crunchy veggie will hold me over. Lunches vary, I mostly pack leftovers if we have any but I always have a salad with one of the two meals. Tomorrow, I am having a salad (light dressing) with homemade vegetable soup first & then fresh green beans & salmon/sweet potato patties. I weigh & measure everything while I am packing & then I log the calories into Spark People. I like to eat eggs for lunch, I'm not fond of meat so I also eat a lot of beans. Fat free re-fried beans on whole wheat tortillas with cheese, hot sauce & light sour cream is a favorite of mine. Tuna on my salad is something I eat often & I love baked potatoes with a little butter, reduced fat cheese & light sour cream.

Dinner consists of a lean protein (chicken, pork, lean beef or turkey), a starch (brown rice, whole wheat pasta or sweet potato) and LOTS of veggies. I like asparagus & frozen green beans most. Tomorrow I'm making split pea & ham soup. All homemade, so no added crap! A few of our favorites are chicken tacos (homemade taco seasoning= less sodium), any kind of bean soup, potato soup, shredded beef tacos, pulled pork, roasted turkey breast and roast beef. We use our crock pot 2-3 days a week, it makes my life SO much easier! Since my husband is laid off right now, he does most of the cooking & he's super good at it!

Snacks are usually apples with almond butter (I hate peanut butter but sometimes I choke it down, only natural!), celery with light blue cheese dressing, baby carrots, snap peas. I also like to eat lean Lebanon bologna with some cheese wrapped inside, turkey pepperoni with cheddar cheese or greek yogurt. I try to keep processed foods to a minimum, so it's usually vegetables. I also don't eat fruit later in the day because it is high in sugar.

Right now, I'm not working out, so I am trying to stay at 1200-1400 calories. I'll keep you updated on my progress, let me know if you have any questions!

*Krystle