Week 1

Ok I managed to get through week 1, sort of!

So the first couple of days were also my first days back to work after summer vacation (I'm a teacher) and maybe putting those two events together were not the best idea. I felt tired and a bit sad all week. I had gained weight over the summer and was sure the people around me noticed. After about two days the sadness turned to anger. I was angry that I had done this to myself and wanted it fixed yesterday. My husband reminded me that I didn't put the weight on over night (although it felt that way) I wasn't going to be able to take it off over night. Argh. I hate when he's right!

I stuck to my plan and on some days I felt hungry because I couldn't eat when I needed to. I'm still trying to work out when I can eat at school. Breakfast is about 7:30 and lunch is at 11:00 and that seems to be too long right now to go between smoothies. I have a five minute break between classes but I need to travel across the school and this week  I didn't have time for another smoothie. So I need to figure something out there.

I'm thinking also I was a bit hungrier that normal because I'm still transitioning. The few days before I started I began to cut out some unhealthy foods but there is a transition none the less.

My daysconsisted of green smoothies/thickies (thickies because I always added a filler or protein to make it a meal) for breakfast and lunch. Then I would have a huge salad with some protein for dinner. One day I had a tiny bit of corn and gluten free pasta but not much in the way of grains at all. On two days I needed to have a banana for a snack...mostly because it was there and I love bananas!

So here comes the sort of part!

On Saturday night I went to my parents's place for dinner (that's always a problem for food!). I brought my salad already to go so I would have no excuses. My family is Italian and my mom usually makes her own meat balls. They never have any junk in them so I decided to have a few as my protein in my salad. They were good but tasted different. So I asked what was different? Turns out she was busy and decided to buy the meatballs and hoped no one noticed. These meatballs had breadcrumbs and cheese in them...argh! I was disappointed in myself  which lead to more disappointment which lead to eating pumpkin pie all by myself at night. Yep I said it...total fail!

I learned a good lesson here however. I'm not ready to go out and I should always stick to what I bring and make for now. After only a week in, I need more structure.

On a good note I had lost 8 pounds (then up to 6 pounds after the pie and meatballs thing) in the first week.

It's day 7 today and I'm back on track and ready to take on week 2!

Prep, Prep, Prep, and More Prep

Prep, prep, prep, and more prep…that is what I’m about today. I’m getting ready to start my journey back to health. My planned start date is Monday, September 7 (it’s always a Monday right?) My body is craving this and I looking forward to starting. I do have some major prepping to do however and I’m in the middle of that right now. It’s a complete lifestyle over-haul! I don’t think you can decide to do something as major as this one day and jump in the next. You need to prep, and in more ways than one.

Prep 1:  I need to prep my kitchen. Take out all that isn’t good and re-stock with all the good stuff. I’ll be following the 7 day plan to start so week one will be easy! I’ve already started this…it takes some time!

Prep 2: I need to prep my freezer. I have made little freezer bags of ready-made smoothies so they are available when I’m in a rush. NO EXCUSES here my friends. I have been making freezer bags and organizing my freezer with fruits and veggies. This time of year is great to get all the fresh local stuff.

From my very own garden!

This is kale from my very own garden, then I packed it up and made ready to go freezer smoothies!

Freezer ready!

Prep 3: I need to prep my family. I have been talking about this to my friends and family so they know exactly what is going on. I don’t need any extra pressures at birthday parties or family dinners. It’s great accountability too…you know they will be asking.

Prep 4: I need to prep my mind. This is the most important one. You have to be mentally ready. I mean really ready. I keep telling myself this is it. I’m going to do this and it is going to be great. This time feels different too (because believe me I’ve tried to start many times). This time I feel really ready.

OK so here goes. The beginning.

Why a smoothie?

Four years ago I lost a lot of weight (75 pounds to be exact) but I have since gained it all back. ARGH! My goal now (and purpose of this blog) is to get back to that same healthy weight and level of wellness. You can read my story and what happened exactly on the “About Me” page.

What I did those 4 years ago was adopt a clean eating lifestyle where smoothies were at the center of it all. It took a long time, it didn’t happen overnight. When you change an entire lifestyle it takes time. That thought is sometimes overwhelming for me now but since I had so much success, and I still remember how great it felt, I know I can do this!

Really all I did to start me off in the right direction was make one smoothie a day! By introducing one smoothie a day you are giving your body loads of great nutrients quickly and your body will thank you.

Smoothies can be anything really, the opportunities are endless…what they are NOT however is a low quality protein powder and water…that’s just gross. For a smoothie to be amazing it must contain all sorts of goodness that you love. The ingredients must support health.

Here is an example of some amazing ingredients and why I love them:

Spinach: it took me 6 months (at least) to get the courage to add spinach to my smoothie. When I finally did I didn’t even taste it…seriously! The spinach taste gets hidden behind all the yummy fruit yet you still get the benefits of eating spinach. It provides calcium for our bones, folate to put us in a good mood, and luten for good eye health…just to name a few. You can also experiment with other leafy greens like kale or romaine lettuce once you get used to the smoothie idea.

Blueberries (or any type of berry actually): blueberries are antioxidants which help to fight free radicals and they contain a compound that actually activated a fat burning gene…sweet!

Hemp seeds: these little powder houses are a complete protein which is easily digestible and also contains healthy fats. They provide the perfect balance of Omega 6 to Omega 3 that we need for great health.

Maca Powder: I love adding maca (however not daily, we need to take a break once in a while). Maca is an adaptogen that helps the body deal with stress. It is also a natural aphrodisiac! ;)

Cinnamon: I try to add cinnamon to anything I eat whenever I can. If you are dealing with extra weight you most likely have some blood sugar control issues and cinnamon helps to balance blood sugar levels. It lowers the glycemic index of foods.

Banana or avocado: this adds creaminess to the smoothie, it makes it very milk shake like. Bananas have potassium of course and help with mood because they increase tryptophan which is converted to serotonin which is the feel good neurotransmitter. It also lowers blood pressure. The thing with bananas is that they are higher in natural sugar so you don’t want to eat too much (a banana is still better than a candy bar!). If you decide to substitute an avocado you will still get that creaminess without the extra natural sugar, along with healthy fats, Vitamin C, K, potassium, fiber and folate.

Protein Powder: If you want to make your smoothie a meal you might want to add extra protein. Use a good quality protein powder. Make sure it doesn’t have any added white refined sugar, or artificial sweeteners, or anything else you can’t pronounce.

This is just an example of what you can add. Try experimenting with the fruit and vegetables. You can start off by adding half greens and half fruit then as you get used to the taste make the move to more leafy greens and less fruit.

Add water and ice (it’s always best super cold!) and blend until smooth. A high powered blender work best. You want everything to be pulverized so your body can absorb all the nutrients easily, and if it’s too chunky it won’t taste good and will be hard to drink. If this happens then strain your smoothie with a sieve before drinking to remove the leafy bits.

I love to drink mine with a glass straw…yummy!

So really what do I know?

So really what is it that I can offer, why and am I doing this? Well I have spent loads of time (all my spare time actually, call it a hobby, call it crazy!) reading about healthy nutrition.

For years (until I was about 35 years old), I thought being healthy meant you ate a little less junk, more fruit, more veggies, and drank diet pop instead of regular. Choosing low fat options when ever possible and if a product had artificial sugar that was awesome because it was essentially “free”. Everything (pretty much everything) I ate was processed. I even did some diets where ALL the food I ate was processed. I never cooked, baked, or prepared anything myself.

I had tried every diet possible, fad or otherwise. I won’t list them because my list is too long and that is just depressing.

After I had 2 kids in 15 months and recovered from the “what I have 2 babies? am I crazy?” feeling, I decided I wanted to lose my baby weight. After all my youngest was 2 years old and people were still asking me when my baby was due. I once parked in the pregnant parking spot at Walmart and pretended to waddle into the store because I was so angry that people kept thinking I was pregnant…sad I know, I digress.

I resorted to all my old tricks for weight loss (years of yo yo dieting made me an expert) except nothing was working. I was gaining weight fast and furiously and I was feeling horrible. I was even diagnosed with diabetes and put on medication.

You can read more about my story on the “About Me” page.

So anyway,

I turned to taking courses and reading everything I could get my hands on about healthy…really healthy…nutrition.

Here is what I’ve done:

• ·         “Thrive in Thirty” by Brenden Brazier – 2011
• ·         “Thrive Forward” by Brenden Brazier” – 2012
• ·         Various cooking classes from Delicious Knowledge by Marni Wasserman from 2011 and always ongoing.
• ·         Plant Based Nutrition Certification by eCornell University (Dr. T. Collin Campbell) – 2012
• ·         Culinary Nutrition Expert (CNE) from The Academy of Culinary Nutrition (Meghan Telpner) -2013/2014
• ·         Superfoods Nutrition from Matthew Kinney Culinary Institute (and Navitas Naturals) – Winter 2014
• ·         Veggication Certification – Winter 2014
• ·         GAPS Practice (Gut and Psychology Syndrome) – Winter 2014
• ·         Advanced Clinical Focus: Digestion and GI Health, Josh Gitalis – September 2014
• ·         Attended various talks, health fairs, and seminars on the topic of nutrition.
• ·         Food Handlers and Safety Couse – Ontario Public Health September 2015
• ·         Whatever exciting reading I can get my hands on!

WOW, so  maybe I’ve learned a bit.

My hope is to share that knowledge with you. My hope is to use that knowledge once again to get back in the healthy game.

If you are also interested in learning more check out my nutrition teacher Meghan Telpner, she rocks! The Culinary Academy of Nutrition is loaded with blog posts, recipes, tips, and tricks.

 http://meghantelpner.com?refer=223

My First Blog Post

Hi! 

My name is Carrie and I’m going to use this space to blog about my journey back to health. You can read more about my story on the “About Me” page. You see, I LOVE smoothies and I feel very strongly that what you put into your body makes a huge difference in the way you feel and your over all health. I want to incorporate more smoothies into my diet and hope for an increase in health and major weight loss. Hang with me and find out what happens!

Thanks for stopping by!

Carrie