Eating Clean

I came across this on Pinterest the other day and it pretty much sums up my diet...

I know that going clean/organic/healthy can be completely intimidating and overwhelming. Not to mention it can take a huge hit on your monthly grocery budget. But it is totally doable!

I didn't want to shock my husband all at one time with a $500 grocery bill so the Sunday before I started the challenge I sat down and looked over some great clean eating websites and planned out my menu. I planned breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner. The first week I went about as basic as possible because I wasn't sure how well I was going to like any of the food. I looked at all of the ingredients I would need for dinners for one week and mainly focused on that. So when I went to the store I only bought what I needed for the week ahead, nothing more. I did not go into my kitchen and throw everything out that was unhealthy or "dirty." To me that would have been impossible to do. I noticed that each week I went to the store, my kitchen was slowly transitioning to clean/healthy foods. I remember opening my fridge one day and talking to my husband saying "It looks like healthy people live here." Then as my shopping continued I start noticing that I hardly ever went down a center aisle in the grocery store. I was shopping from the outer ring only. Little did I know that this is the key to keeping foods healthy, clean and fresh.

So far I have found two great websites for great clean recipes:

The Gracious Pantry and Dashing Dish

Personally, Dashing Dish is my favorite. I have been able to find great recipes on here that are mouthwatering, delicious and picky family approved! There is a membership required for Dashing Dish but it's worth it. Some of the recipes are available without a membership but a lot of the really great ones do require a membership. And to be honest, I just haven't invested enough time on The Gracious Pantry to see what all is available there. I have found some things here and there and it is a great website.

Another fear of mine that I had was cooking 24/7. I don't like to cook... AT ALL! However, I learned that recipes I have found on both of the above websites are quick and easy. Also, you can get your ingredients ready for the week ahead by chopping, bagging and freezing. This takes away a lot of the prep-work involved with cooking any meal. When cooking a clean lasagna or spaghetti, you don't have to make your own sauce. You could but between my family, working full time and trying to enjoy the summer, I don't have time. There are sauces out there that you can buy but you have to look. Look at the ingredients, do your research into bad ingredients and good ingredients and most of all remember that if you can't pronounce it.... DON'T EAT IT!

As I said in my previous post, I will be sharing some great recipes that are approved by my family and trust me, I have a picky bunch. This has been our favorite so far. We love pasta, anything with pasta is great in our opinion so I just had to try this. It is now a staple in our monthly rotation...

Lasagna Roll Ups

And of course always remember that H2O is the way to go! This is all that I have had to drink in over a month. I was addicted to Sprite...GONE! Fruit juice, which I love, GONE! A nightly glass of chocolate milk...GONE! Nothing but water and my Shakeology. Hard? Yes. Worth it? YES YES YES!

I am no pro. I don't know all there is to know about clean eating. I am still a newbie, researching and trying to find my own way through all of this but I hope that a little advice and tips can help anyone wanting to start this journey into a new, healthy you!

One Month

As of last week, I am one month down and a lifetime to go. So yesterday I did my one month weigh in and measurements. Not fun but it's something that you must do to see progress. I can look at myself in a mirror all day long and not see a bit of change. So in the time frame of April 23, 2013-May 27, 2013 I am down 20 pounds and 8.25 inches! Whoop whoop! That is cause for celebration. But hold up! I also had to do pictures. Which means putting on dreadful clothes that show my body and take the same photo I took a month prior. I must just grin and bear it. Photos done and I'm horrified at what I see. I see no change... nothing! I compare the two side by side in my lovely PS program and type the dates to see the comparison. My husband gushes about the difference. I don't see it. I e-mail it my couch promising that I have lost the weight, you just can't see to see it. Her reply hits me hard. She can see it. Not only that but she can point to where she can see it and guess what?!?!? I see it too! I immediately send the picture to a friend of mine and tell her where to look to see it. Her response floors me as she tells me that she didn't need to look where to see it, she could tell right away. I analyze, look and of course criticize. I can see it, it's there. I can see the changes in my body for the first time, on the outside. Not only am I feeling great on the inside but I can see the changes that this is making to me. I'm encouraged, I'm excited, and I'm ready to do it all again!

I have learned through this process that I am full of self doubt. I don't believe that I can do it because I have tried and failed several times. But as I look back and wonder why it is that I have failed it's because I wasn't doing it for the right reasons. I wanted to just simply lose the weight. Not work for it, not change my lifestyle and not commit myself to anything that would require taking away everything that I have always known and starting over. I had to have that light bulb moment where I wanted to change myself and change everything I had ever known. I had to reach that point of no return and see what I was doing to myself in order to want to change it. And reach that point I did. Just as with everything else, you have to want it bad enough to succeed at it. You have to work at it to achieve it and this is what I want.

Eating clean is getting easier and easier by the day. It's now just kind of programmed into my mind to look at those labels and see what I am fueling my body with. I have people who ask me how I feel and honestly, I feel great. Clean eating has really helped me focus more on life than what my next meal will be. I have it all planned out for the week ahead and the food is actually stuff I enjoy. My body doesn't feel tired all of the time, I'm not as sluggish as I once was and I have the energy to get through the day without feeling like I have to take a nap.

As I said, one month down - a lifetime to go! This will not stop here. I am so happy that I can see the change and most importantly so happy that I can feel the change. This week my goal is to really start sharing great clean recipes that I have found, share some goals that I have committed myself to and share more about the struggles I have faced along the way.

Introduction

I have done this blog thing a time or two before. I think I generally failed each time because those blogs did not truly reflect me. Anyway, this is it. This is the me that I want everyone to see and the me that I am still working on every single day. This blog will be very simple, I vow not to get fancy with it as I have no desire to go that far into the blogging world.

I'm a wife, we've been semi-happily married for 10 years. I say semi because those first few years were like learning to ride a bike. Torture and a lot of falls and fails. We got married young, had kids right away and never really had a marriage. We threw ourselves into life without a net and most of the time we crashed and burned. But some how we managed to learn and grow together and have grown into quite possibly the most stable and functional relationship that I know. I love my husband dearly, he truly is my best friend and I feel like after all we have been through we will be that old couple sitting on the front porch watching our grandchildren play while drinking sweet tea out of mason jars.

Together my husband and I have had three amazing children. Today we only have two as one gained his wings and left this Earth almost 7 years ago. We struggled greatly through our son's passing and it was a hard time for all of us. However, we are very thankful for the time we did have with him and that God blessed us to be his parents for the short time that he had here on Earth. We will see him again one day, this we know for sure. We've been blessed and that we know. We have a handsome son and beautiful daughter that fill us with love, laughter, craziness and joy. Just like marriage, parenting has it's ups and downs but you make it through the best you can and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

I'm a full time Mom and I also work full-time. I got back into the working world when my daughter started school. I realized sitting at home was boring and there are only so many times you can clean your house. I've recently been promoted so work has been crazy and most days I find it hard to keep my head above water but no matter what my family comes first and I'm thankful to work for a company that believes in that statement as well.

Some of this blog may be about family, about work or day to day things but mostly I am starting this blog as an outlet for a new adventure I have started. About a month ago I decided to make a huge change and began looking into ways to get healthy. My husband and I could be your typical American. Eat what you want, exercise little and gain weight quickly. I was never unhappy with myself because I am fabulous regardless ;) but the more and more I began looking into what I was feeding myself and what I was feeding my gamily, the more I was questioned what in the world was I doing?!?!? After much research and talking with others I decided to do the Beachbody Challenge. It has been quite the adventure but I love how I feel and I love how my body is changing and shaping in to ways I never imagined. I am doing things I never quite thought possible and it's only been a month!

So, what am I doing differently? Well first of all, exercise is a part of my daily routine. I work out daily, I try for more than once a day. I didn't join a gym because I know I will make 1000 excuses not to go. Luckily with beachbody, you pick your program. I chose the Les Mills Body Pump and I love it. Although, some days I could seriously reach though the screen and punch them in the throat - especially after doing squats! The biggest change has been our diet. We are now a clean eating family. I never thought of food as fuel for your body. It was always something I wanted or craved. Now I look at food in a whole new light. I give my body exactly what it needs  to fuel it's self through out the day. Yes, cooking every single meal has been hard. Yes, buying everything fresh and organic has been a hit to the wallet but the benefits far outweigh both of those. Do I cheat? YES! And that's ok. I have one night a week designated to cheat. However, I now find my self making the healthier choices no matter where I am and that's a HUGE change. Am I perfect? No. Will I fail? Probably and I will have to pick myself back up. Do I want this? ABSOLUTELY! Is all of my family on board? NO! And you will read many times here in the future that it's a big struggle to decide to live your life one way and expect everyone to jump on board. I have faith that it will happen eventually!

I have many goals set for myself. Some personal, some not so. I will be sharing them here as well as yummy recipes and my success and failures. This blog is really to keep me accountable. This blog is for ME. I don't care how many readers I have. If I have a few that join me on this journey, GREAT! I hope I can inspire someone along the way.