Setting Apart the Winners

As soon as I saw that Hilary had joined our Challenge, I knew I wanted to ask her to share a some of her expertise and knowledge with us! I knew she'd majored in nutrition in college and that her professional knowledge far exceeds my personal trial and error knowledge! 

I was even more stoked when she said she wanted to post on portions, and I LOVE her attitude and approach! This is an awesome post! I'm excited to be sharing it with you guys today! Thanks Hil!!

Hi guys! I am actually so excited to be posting on this subject. In my opinion, portion control is what sets the winners apart from the losers as far as weight loss and maintenance are concerned. Once you can grasp portion control, “dieting” becomes soooooo much easier. You no longer feel restricted and you realize that you really CAN have ice cream, cake and brownies…..just not every day. ☺

One important note on portion control is that while we all know there is a limit to how much sugary deliciousness we should be eating, there should also be a limit to some of the healthy foods we eat as well. For example, almonds are great for you, but not the whole bag. Steak can be an excellent source of iron, Vitamin B, protein, magnesium, the good kind of cholesterol and calcium, but when it takes up your whole plate, it’s not a great choice. The only food that (in my opinion) you can NEVER have too much of is vegetables. Other than that, there is a limit and you need to know your limit in order to be successful. 

Here are a few printables that I feel explains portion sizes very well, and I like the visual they provide. I encourage you to print these out and leave them in your kitchen. Put them on your fridge so when you’re making your meals you have a visual as to how much you should be serving!

Once you see what a serving should be, you need to know how many servings of that item you should/can have each day. Again, I use a printable to keep this fresh in my mind. The MyPyramid tells you how many servings of grains, veggies, fruits, and protein you should be eating in one day. If you go to choosemyplate.org, you can get a custom MyPyramid that is set up for your goals, although the one I have added is pretty general and a good baseline.

Once you’ve got a good grasp on how big a portion is and how many you should be having you’re well on your way to practicing great portion control! Here are 6 quick tips that will help you exercise better portion control:

1. Measure- If you’ve been using MFP, then you’re used to this step, if not then start! Measuring your food seems tedious at the beginning, but once you get used to it, you’ll become a natural at judging what 1 cup of veggies is, or how ½ cup of brown rice looks on your dinner plate. 
2. Use smaller dishes- Our eyes are tricky little things. If you use a smaller plate, you are bound to eat less (genius, right). Try thinking opposite. Use your salad plates for your main dish, and your dinner plates for you salads. Same with dessert. Use smaller bowls for ice cream, puddings and creamy soups and the bigger bowls for fruit, and broth based soups.
3. Measure out your servings- If you’re planning on eating something from a bag, like chips, measure out one serving and put them in a bowl. DO NOT EAT FROM THE BAG. You’ll eat WAY more than one serving, I promise.
4. Pack up Leftovers- Once you’ve made dinner, dish out servings for your family and then pack up the leftovers BEFORE you sit down and eat. Once it’s away, you’re much less likely to keep eating. If this seems too extreme for you, then I would suggest to keep all the food in the kitchen, don’t put the dishes out on the table. If it’s right out in front of you then you’re much more likely to eat seconds. Out of sight out of mind.
5. Stay on Schedule- Eating on a regular schedule will help keep you from getting too hungry between meals. You’re much more likely to overeat and disregard portion sizes when you’re starving. 
6. Portion size vs serving size- I think we all know the difference between portion size and serving size. The serving size is listed in the nutrition facts on foods and lets you know that is the size they used to obtain their nutrient count. That does not mean this is a good portion size. Knowing the difference can help you stick with the correct portion size and help you cut down on useless calorie consumption. 

One last thing, when I was studying nutrition in school, we used a website that I still use ALL THE TIME. Eatright.org is the website used and regualted by registered dietitians and has some great information about health and nutrition. They have articles about everything you could ever think of or wonder about regarding health. To earn an extra point this week go to the website and find an article that interests you. Read it, and then post about what you learned/appreciated from the article on our facebook page. You could even link the article to share with everyone. 

There you have it! Hopefully this has been helpful. Good luck this week focusing on portion control! 

You Don't Have to be Rich to Eat Healthy!

I'm so glad Natatie was excited about posting on this subject! I know for me, when I decided to try to start eating healthier, knowing where to start at the grocery store was SO intimidating to me! Especially when it seemed like for our little family, fast food was actually cheaper!

Nat has some awesome insight and foolproof ideas! In fact, I'm in the process of revamping our entire budget after reading her post! I'd say that's pretty motivating! Thanks Nat, take it away!

I am no expert on this subject, but I asked Ashley if I could highlight this subject because I feel like one of the biggest misconceptions of healthy eating and weight loss is you have to spend an arm and a leg on food… I have found that to be the opposite in my experience.

I used to follow an IG user who named herself“eatingwhole” for whatever reason she does not exist any more. She also had a blog on how she changed her life and lost a considerable amount of weight by eating whole and not feeling famished. One week she posted a meal plan and a shopping list for her readers to follow. The question was asked by a reader how much money she spent on groceries a month. For her small family of 3 (her, her husband, and 2yr old daughter), she was spending anywhere from $700-$800 a month!! She lived in California… but really??  THAT IS INSANE PEOPLE!!! And if you spend anywhere near that I am here to tell you, THERE IS ANOTHER WAY!!!

Like I said, I am not an expert and I can only share what I know for feeding a family of 2. Me and my husband, who eats a lot of food! One of the first things I noticed when I was first married was we went through A LOT of milk. We also ate a lot of cereal… so as soon as I stopped buying cereal magically we had an extra $10-$15 in milk money alone and not to mention an extra $15-20 bucks a month from the cereal. Another thing I did (which I would not recommend) I tried to use my food storage and mix half canned milk and half store bought milk- let’s just say that didn’t go over so smoothly and as a newly married lady feelings were hurt! Haha

The reason I tell you this is, if you want to eat healthy and maintain a budget you have to give up something, and quiet honestly your family will too. Eggs and oatmeal are so much cheaper, more filling, and better for your body than cereal and milk! You might be saying “Cereal is so easy though!” indeed it is but so is instant oatmeal, one minute and ten seconds- no more excuses ladies! If you don’t like oatmeal, eat it until you do! We crave the things we put into our body- any health/fitness expert will tell you that.

As I made little changes like I mentioned above we spent a lot less money on groceries. Now my budget for the month is $150-200. That’s it! Since being married (3years now) we have only ever had one income so I have had to get creative. So how do I do it??

1. Figure out a budget- and stick to it! At the beginning of every month I have CASH in my wallet designated to groceries. I do not use a debit or credit card at the grocery store (Points or no points I save money and I can buy my own plane tickets... credit cards are dumb… but those opinions are for another time and place) You will be surprised at how carefully you spend your money.  Once the money is gone it is gone... I have failed several times and hated our last week of the month on several occasions (and sometimes lets be honest I just had to go over the budget- but I have gotten a lot better as I have done this)
2. Shop produce sales. If you will only eat strawberries but they are 4 bucks a pint… don’t buy them… buy the pears that are 48 cents a pound and suck it up! You will start to like pears. Or maybe you will just eat more salad that week instead of fruit because lettuce was on sale. If your grocery stores are limited then bountiful baskets is a great option! You get a huge basket full of produce. You may have to get creative because you never know what you will get, but it’s CHEAP!! If bountiful baskets is not an option in your area then you will have to shop the sales as best you can. 
3. We eat a lot of rice, beans and eggs (only hard boiled for me) in our family. It is a cheap option and it fills you up. They are both very versatile. Rice goes with pretty much everything (and a healthier option than potatoes). Beans can be added to salads, eaten alone, put on the side, made into a veggie chili- lots of stuff! (and they keep your bowels moving which is a must!) 
4. When something is on sale and can be frozen I stock up! This is where I will fudge a little on the budget, but I try not to go overboard. I usually will just buy one or 2 extra. 
5. I only buy chicken/meat when we are completely out or if it is under $2.00 a pound. Same with tuna- if its not on sale we go without (refer to #4 I stock up when it is on sale)
6. I take time at the store and compare the prices/brands. I use the price per ounce rather than the actual overall price. I am now getting more for my money (the only time I do not use this rule is if I need a random ingredient for a recipe).
7. Make a list before going to the grocery store. Plan out your meals of the week (or 2 or whatever is easiest for you) STICK TO THE LIST! 
8. Don’t go to the grocery store hungry- you will fail every time I promise! 
9. My husband hates when he knows I do this next one. I use half a chicken breast for us to share for a meal. ☺ we both don’t need our own- that’s too much meat! When I first lived out on my own I lived with my brother and we were super poor! I had to try to find ways to make our food stretch and meat is expensive! For instance when I make stir fry I cut my chicken up into tiny bite size pieces and load it with veggies… most of the time my husband does not even notice! 
10. Last but not least… eat less! Eat on a small plate and drink plenty water (before, after or during) whichever “expert” you have chosen to follow. 

I am long winded and could go on and on about the things I have done to help make our grocery budget go further… but I will close here. The main take away points are: make a plan and a budget and stick to it, be versatile in the things you will eat, and find ways to cut back and make your food stretch!

Remember you will not be perfect over night… and I am still not as good at this as I would like to be. Just know it gets easier and you don’t have to be rich to eat healthy!

Healthy Weight Loss-How to start and Maintain

Hey Everyone!

I'm SO happy with how that first week went, were you?? I know some of you were a little discouraged with not getting as many points as you'd hoped, but I'm still so proud of everyone who submitted points! You're starting, and hopefully looking at your points will help you see areas where you might want to focus your weekly goals. Also remember that the points are only intended to help you reach the main goal of this whole thing, which is to get you to a healthy, maintainable weight. And that's what we'll focus on this week, how to have healthy, sustainable weight loss. 

(A lot of this post will be a combination of posts I made the last go-round, so bear with me if this seems redundant!)

DIET, DIET, DIET!

Image via Google

As I said on my "Someday Skinny" page, I feel that for me personally, weight loss is about 97% diet and 3% exercise.  SO, when I'm giving people advice about where to start, especially if you feel like you're really starting from scratch like I did, I usually suggest they start by putting a significant amount of their focus on what they're eating.  In my experience, I've seen much faster and more noticeable results by focusing most of my planning and dedication on diet.

Just to be clear, I'm using the word "diet" as a noun, not a verb! I'm NOT saying, "you have to go on a diet", or "you have to diet". I'm saying you need to adopt a healthy diet. Eat clean, healthy and in reasonable portions 80% of the time!

A great way to be aware of and control what you're eating is to count calories or keep some sort of food journal. 

I realize that calorie counting is hard and tedious, but I highly recommend it if you've never done it before. Free apps like MyFitnessPal are a great way to help you realize exactly how much you're eating and help you decide how much you should be eating. Most people are surprised to find out exactly how much they're consuming vs. how much they need. When I first started counting calories, I learned that in order to MAINTAIN my current weight, I should've been eating about 1800 calories a day.  I was completely surprised to find out I was actually averaging between 2500 and 3500! Most people need a deficit of about 500 calories a day to lose weight. That could be a daily candy bar, or Blizzard, or shake! It's so important to understand the calorie load of the foods you're consuming!

Image via Google

Remember to make the calories you are eating healthy ones! Stock up on fruits and vegetables and whole grains. Most vegetables are so low calorie, you can eat very generous amounts and stay within your calorie goal. Try to substitute unhealthy ingredients in some of your favorite recipes for healthy ones.

If you've counted calories before, and are just plain sick of it, keeping a daily food journal is another great way to be aware of what you're eating. Writing it down or taking pictures of your food are other ways to be able to look back at exactly what you ate. I know a big pitfall for me is thinking I had a good eating day and then looking back and realizing, "oh yeah, I had seconds of dessert" or, "I guess my veggies didn't take up most of my plate like I thought". 

I've seen so many people on diets walk around chronically hungry. In my opinion, if you're hungry, you're not eating a healthy diet. Remember, you're trying to create this for the long haul. You can't walk around hungry all the time! If you're hungry, eat something healthy to keep your blood sugar up and your metabolism going, but try to have that snack before you get hungry. On the contrary, I know I'm doing well when I feel satisfied all the time.I've heard from several people once they've gotten started that they feel like their meal plan is too much food and that they don't even want their snack when it's time for it.

There's A LOT to say in this diet section but I feel like a lot of cleaning up diet just takes time, learning and trial and error. So if you feel overwhelmed or discouraged because you're trying to eat healthy by tomorrow, take a step back...we'll get there one step at a time! Simply trying to be aware and conscious of what you're eating makes a big difference!

BE ACTIVE

Image via karmajello.com

 Most people find it easier to eat right when they stay active. Try to go for walks or do a light exercise circuit around the house every other day or so. My 3 year old LOVES taking turns on my yoga mat with me doing push-ups.  Especially if you're starting the way I'm suggesting, you don't have to set aside two hours of kid-free time to work out!  I used to work 12 hour night shifts with a girl who was extremely fit and she would do quick workout routines she'd found on Pinterest during her breaks.  You'd be surprised where a few 10-15 min. exercise sessions will get you!

DRINK MORE WATER

Image via blog.spafinder.com

I feel like diving into all the health benefits of drinking water would take all day, when really the only thing that needs to be said is just do it!  It's KEY to weight loss and overall good health! 

Try to have a water bottle with you all the time!  It sounds lame but my water drinking habits changed drastically when I got this cool, cute water bottle I actually felt kind of cool toting around.  If you think that might help, try it! 

SET GOALS AND MAKE A PLAN TO ACHIEVE THEM.

 I've found that I very rarely have success without a well thought out plan!  You need to know what your goals are and plan how you're going to get there.  Make a menu plan and a workout plan. This is SO important to help keep you from falling back on bad habits or convenient, but unhealthy meals. I've found that for the most part, if I don't plan a time to exercise, it doesn't get done. Even if the plan is fitting in wall push-ups while the kids are in the tub! Have a back-up plan in case you have one of those days where it's 6:00 and you haven't even started yet! 

This is a good outline to follow when making goals:

1. Your goal

2. How you plan to carry it out

3. What you'll do if you have an "off" day to get back on track

BABY STEPS

Each of the subjects I just discussed are things I tried to address when making the point system. Personally, I feel like following the guidelines the point system creates is a fool-proof way to lose weight. Like I said, this competition is about weight loss, not points, but I think maximizing the point system will get you there!

Don't get discouraged by setbacks, we ALL have them! I remember during one of my attempts at weight-loss (in the midst of my fast food days), I was so proud of myself because I actually went into the produce section of the grocery store and bought grapes and bananas. Well, come to find out from one of my very health conscious friends, grapes and bananas are "the two fruits at the top of the glycemic index". Basically according to her, the most unhealthy fruits I could've bought. I was very discouraged and went back to the comforts of fast food not long after that. Remember everyone is at a different level. You may eventually get to where you're eating a completely clean diet with organic everything but for now, give yourself a chance to make mistakes and learn what works best for you.

When you start to get discouraged, look back on where you were a week from now. Have you eaten better than you did last week? Have you learned some healthier recipes? Have you eaten homemade meals all week? Were you even consciously making an effort to be healthier this time last month? Be proud of yourself for the healthy decisions and efforts you are making. No matter where you start, it's going to take time to learn what you need to know to get to where you want to be.

This is an excellent article about getting started and overall weight loss. You can earn an extra point this week if you comment and let me know you read it and something you learned/want to incorporate from it!

Clean Eating

When the "clean eating" craze first started, it always seemed so complicated to me. I read up on it a lot and tried to get as much information and "prepare" as much as I could before attempting to clean up my diet. I think the details can get kind of hazy with what EXACTLY qualifies a food as "clean",  but I also think that the definition of a clean diet is different to different people, the overall concept is actually pretty basic and simple.

Basically, clean eating is eating food closest to its natural form. Eating clean means cutting out processed and artificial foods. Fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats and fish, healthy fats and unprocessed whole grains are good foods to stick to when trying to eat clean. Processed food, fast food, preservatives, artificial sweeteners, sugars and high fat foods are foods to avoid.

I was thankful to see that most of the people who had written articles about clean eating mentioned following the 80/20 diet rule. Try to eat clean 80% of the time, but give yourself that 20% to indulge a little, if you feel like you need to.

I know I still have a lot of areas in my diet that need to be cleaned up a lot. You all know I LOVE light ranch dressing. I also have a hard time not using 100% pure maple syrup instead of sugar-free, mostly because the calorie swap is so intense. It's important to remember that just because a food is "low-fat" or "low-calorie" does NOT mean it's clean (or necessarily even healthy!)! On the flip side, just because a food is clean, that also doesn't mean it's nutrient rich or won't cost you big calories!

I've tried to keep the menus I post pretty true to what I consider a clean diet. There are some great resources online to help keep you in check with what kinds of things you should be aware of when choosing your foods. This is a great article with a lot of helpful information!

My KEY To Weight Loss Success

One time, before I ever tried to lose any weight, I remember reading an article in a magazine about a popular female celebrity at the time and what she did to maintain her figure (I've been trying to find the article now, but have had no luck).  I was blown away when I read that all she did was keep a food journal, cardio for 20 mins. a day, and then strength training 2-3 times a week. I kept looking through the magazine to see where I was missing her 2 or 3 hour long excruciating workouts, but there was nothing else! Everything I'd ever heard or seen about weight loss and maintaining it made me think there was no way possible that anyone could maintain such a body without some SERIOUS gym time! I ended up tossing the magazine aside with a "yeah right!" and never really thought about it again until MY time came to try to lose and maintain my weight.

If any of you have read my weight loss story on here, you'll find that I'm convinced that a well-balanced, low calorie diet is the KEY to losing weight. 

Both times I set out to lose weight after having my babies, it seemed like having healthy control over my calorie INTAKE was the only thing that got me there! I've tried just using exercise (in small and larger amounts) in the past, but I would always hit a plateau after 5-7 lbs.

A few months ago, my sister-in-law told me about a friend of hers who recently lost a lot of weight and looks great! She said she asked her friend what exactly she's been doing because she's very trim and toned. She figured her friend was going to the gym at least daily. She said she was extremely surprised to hear her friend say that she had simply adopted a healthier diet with smaller portions and that she'd quit running. She said she loved to run but she "ate like a horse" whenever she ran. Instead, she said she'd do small bouts of exercise reps around the house WITH her kids every day, and that was about it as far as exercise was concerned. After hearing that story, reminiscing on my own, and thinking of so many other people I know who've had weight loss success by focusing on diet and NOT exercised, I've solidified my belief that controlling your diet is KEY.

Just to be clear, I'm using the word "diet" as a noun, not a verb! I'm NOT saying, "you have to go on a diet", or "you have to diet". I'm saying you need to adopt a healthy diet. Eat clean, healthy and in reasonable portions 80% of the time!

I've been pretty frustrated lately, because I feel like so much emphasis is put on exercise when the subject of weight loss arises. I've had conversations with many people on different occasions, who say that they're frustrated because despite large amounts of exercise (even if they're watching their diet), they just can't seem to lose weight or get to the weight they want. They insist that if they don't exercise in extreme amounts, they won't lose any weight or will even gain weight. I see so many fitness blogs and pages that make you (or me anyway) feel like you have to put in hours worth of gym time to get the results they've gotten. There are infomercials up to wazoo promising an amazing body if you just buy their WORKOUT program. But what's never included in the videos and what you don't find out until you buy the product, is that they almost all come with a diet program as well. And you HAVE to follow the diet if you want the results they promise.

Like I've said, this mentality has really been frustrating me lately. Not that I'm frustrated by people who like to exercise! I REALLY wish I had the desire, drive and motivation to be an avid exerciser. It's a goal that I'm consonantly working on. It plays its own role as a key in so many other aspects of health (and we'll get to in later weeks). I'm talking about people who make the FOCUS of WEIGHT LOSS exercise, and then leave what we consume as sort of an afterthought.

I read this article recently and it put my mind at ease to see that there are the fair share of people out there who don't think exercise dominates the ways of weight loss. It seemed like everywhere I tried to look for back up on the issue only led to articles about MORE exercise! So this was refreshing for me to read! (You can get an extra point this week if you read it!)

I think the main point I'm trying to get at here is that yes, exercise is VERY important and vital for SO many aspects of health. BUT if you're wanting to LOSE weight, you won't be able to do it (or will at least only be able to get so far) without controlling what you eat! A healthy diet and controlled calorie intake is crucial when trying to lose weight.

After thinking about this for several weeks, I've realized that 7 points a week for exercise may be aiding to the mindset that you need to exercise every single day in order to see results. I don't want to be aiding the mindset I'm so frustrated with. So, from here on out, you can only earn 4 points a week for exercise. If you want to continue to exercise every day, that's completely fine, but you can only track points for 4 days of it.

I hope this doesn't throw everyone for a loop or discourage anyone. I'm still SO proud of how everyone is doing and SO motivated by you all!

On a Side Note:
Because of my strong pull toward focusing on diet, I often get a little off track when trying to figure out how much I SHOULD be exercising. As with many aspects of health, I turned to Mayo Clinic's website for the answer and feel satisfied with their advice:

• Aerobic activity. Get at least 150 minutes a week (that's 30 mins. 5X/wk) of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes a week (that's 25 mins. 3X/wk) of vigorous aerobic activity. You also can do a combination of moderate and vigorous activity. The guidelines suggest that you spread out this exercise during the course of a week.
  (Keep in mind those words MODERATE and VIGOROUS. Moderate activity would be walking, housework, yardwork, swimming, etc. Vigorous activity would be jogging/running, competitive sports, interval training, etc.)
• Strength training. Do strength training exercises at least twice a week. No specific amount of time for each strength training session is included in the guidelines.

I'm definitely no expert, but in my humble opinion, if you're doing too much more than that, you may be doing too much and you could be inhibiting your weight loss because of it. 

Juicing 101

I've had several people ask me questions about juicing, so I thought making a short video would be the best way to explain everything quickly and give a visual of how it works. The rest of the post is information that is either in the video, or that I wanted to elaborate on a little more, but didn't have time. (I wanted to keep it as short and sweet as possible!)

I'm fairly new to juicing, and I tend to get on kicks and then have droughts of it, but I really do love it! It's a way that I feel like I can get a wide variety of nutrients in my diet, without actually having to go make a huge salad or fruit and veggie filled meal. It gets me started off feeling energetic and healthy. I was VERY intimidated by juicing at first but it really is SO easy! My kids LOVE juice too and I feel MUCH better giving them REAL juice we've made here, that I know doesn't have extra additives and preservatives. Plus, there's no added sugar in it and you can make your own concoction that doesn't have to stay within the "cran-apple" realm.

What to Juice:
It really seems like you can juice almost anything (I just haven't been quite brave enough to try a lot of options)! I have seen most vegetables juiced including carrots, beets, broccoli, asparagus, kale, chard, tomato, celery, squash, zucchini, lettuce, ginger and potatoes. Fruits I've seen are pineapple, apples, pears, all types of berries, kiwi, citrus (remove peels!), mangoes (remove pit), peaches (remove pit) and melons.

The great thing about juicing is that it requires very little preparation. You can juice most fruits and vegetables whole, without having to remove their skin or stems. In fact, sometimes the stems are the best part to juice! Make sure you wash them really well and I've been advised to buy organic foods, since it does use the whole fruit or veggie. You don't ever want to put citrus in the juicer without being peeled however, and soft foods like avocado and banana don't juice very well.

Favorite Varieties:
Again, I don't really use recipes for juicing. I just put in quite a bit of the things I know I like and then, like with the smoothies, add sparingly what I'm skeptical of but would like to try. A few favorites are:
Pineapple, orange, strawberry, kale and broccoli
Apple, carrot and orange
Grape, carrot, orange and beet

You can use the juice as a base for your green smoothies fresh, or you can freeze it and use it for "flavored ice" for your smoothies. You do want to drink it as soon as possible and only refrigerate it for up to 24 hours. I've also heard that you can use the leftover pulp in baking.

Types of Juicers:
There are a WIDE range of juicers (and a wide price range) for juicers out there! I have the Jack Lelane Power Juicing Machine.

I've used three different types of juicers and so far, I've liked my Jack Lelane the best. It just feels sturdy and gets the job done quickly (although it doesn't have the best reviews on Amazon, apparently it's very "entry level").  It also produced the driest pulp of all the ones I used. But that's not to say there aren't other great options out there. The other two juicers I used, definitely got the job done! As I said in the video, they all follow the same basic design and basically do the same thing. It's just up to you how much you want to spend, and to look into customer reviews (what I usually do when I buy ANYTHING), to find out what will be the best bet for you. Here is a link to Amazon's juicers with the highest customer reviews.

Week 6 Menu

If you didn't see on Facebook, I'm finishing up a post (that was supposed to be done much earlier this week!) with a little more info. on "veggie loading".

Seeing as we're almost half-way through the competition, I'd love to get feedback from as many of you as possible to see how you're doing! If you wouldn't mind sending me a message and letting me know things like what you feel your strengths are, what you feel has been your biggest success so far, what's been your biggest frustration and where you feel like you need improvement. Anything else you want to add, I'd love to hear as well!

I'll also be making a new post tomorrow with some information on next week's theme and some ways I'm wanting to change the competition up a bit.

I just realized that it's Saturday night and I never posted the menu for Week 6! So here it is! Again, I hope everyone has time to get to the store without falling too far behind!

Week 5 Menu

Here are the menu and recipes for next week as a Word file. I tried to keep things pretty similar to last week, so you could use the same shopping list, but there were a few recipes I was wanting to try so you may have to go to the store for a few more things if you don't have them on hand! Look for another post about incorporating veggies in the next day or two!

Veggie Loading

I have to just say again how proud and impressed I am with everyone! Everyone's motivation is still holding strong and everyone is continuing to set and achieve awesome goals! I've realized that my points have consistently been some of the lowest in the group. So, I'm going to start posting my points on the blog, along with the top 5 Challengers. It's going to look TERRIBLE, especially compared to the top 5, but I need some accountability!

Anyway, good job everyone! If you've been frustrated with an "off" week, just remember, we will all probably have one over the course of the Challenge. Part of the reason for the Challenge (and why it's been so good for me!) is to help you have a reason to start fresh again the next day/week. A lot of times for me, after an off day/week, it's hard to find the motivation to try to forget about it and start anew the next day. But having a plan already lined out, knowing what I'm focusing on and seeing all of you doing so well despite the setbacks we all have, has really helped me have the desire to stay on track.

Now, on to "Veggie Loading". Like I said when I posted the menu, I jut saw the term "Veggie Loading" one day. Without really being sure what it meant, I decided to use my own interpretation of it. To me, it means adding as many vegetables to every meal as possible.

I've done this in the past, without really having a name for it, and it made SUCH a difference in my weight loss, energy level, appetite and ability to have self control. I think especially if you can make the first few things you eat in the morning include vegetables, you'll be surprised to see how it changes your days.

When I was on a really good track with my "veggie loading", I'd usually start every day with either freshly made juice or a green smoothie. That usually got my day going, and then when I had more time, is actually eat breakfast. More often than not, by the time I was ready to have breakfast, I wasn't craving junk, and instead wanted something that felt nutritious to continue the day. 

Most vegetables (especially the dark, colorful ones) are high in fiber. Fiber is one of those nutrients that is supposed to fill you up and keep you full longer, which is another perk I've noticed when I fill my meals with vegetables.

I understand that for most people (myself included), just the thought of "filling" your meal/plate with vegetables feels forced and makes you want to turn up your nose. So, I'm going to once again leave you with numbered tips of ways you can try to incorporate more veggies in your meals.

1. Try to fill at least half of your plate with vegetables before you add anything else. Make them a variety of vegetables you LIKE so you don't get burnt out trying to gag down the last one by the time your meal is over. I usually try to have 2-3 different kinds of vegetables at each meal. I love salad, so there's always a gimme for me right there.
   
2. Wash, chop and prepare your vegetables as soon as you get home from the store. This is a big one for me! I usually try to chop my lettuce and store it in a big Tupperware (if you put a paper towel in with it, it will soak up the moisture) or Ziploc at the beginning of the week. Then, no matter what I need lettuce for, I always have it ready and handy. Do the same with bell pepper, broccoli, mushrooms, tomato, celery, carrots, spinach, and really any vegetable-almost all of them will be okay to store in a baggie or container in the fridge for a week. For example, I chopped all my broccoli earlier in the week and have used it for a snack/side raw and steamed. I've also used it IN my meals and it goes SO quick because all I have to do it dump it in. I've also pre-chopped all my bell peppers, which makes them an easy addition to a sandwich or salad, or to saute for fajitas or omelets. Those are just a few examples. As I said above, you can do this with most vegetables. I also find that whenever I do this, I'm far more likely to know what I have in the fridge and use it and far less likely to have my produce go bad.
   
3. Drink your veggies!
   I LOVE green smoothies! (In fact, I may end up devoting a week to them!) As I said above, you can start your day with one and get in a few servings of vegetables before you even eat breakfast. If you haven't tried adding spinach or kale to your smoothies, be brave! You really don't taste it (it just turns the smoothie an ugly color-but that's how you know it's nutrient dense! ;)). I've even added spinach to a peanut butter, banana and cocoa smoothie without sacrificing the taste. Green smoothies are about the only way I can get my kids to have some nutritious intake sometimes!
   I've also become a big fan of juicing in the past year, although I don't know nearly as much about it as I'd like. I know it gets some flack because the fruits and vegetables lose some nutritional content in the juicing process, but I definitely consume more than I normally would without it, so it's a win for me! It's kind of expensive because it uses a lot of vegetables and juicers aren't cheap (unless you got yours at a yard sale like I did), but it's another great way to get a lot of nutrients down without gagging! My kids are also big fans of juice. (Let me know if you're interested in learning more about green smoothies and juicing, because it might help me determine whether or not to make it one of the weekly themes) 
   
4. "Disguise" your veggies in your other food, or into something fun. In searching for ways to try to get my kids to eat more vegetables, I kept coming across posts like this one. After a while, it occurred to me that I could use the same distraction! One reason I love making spaghetti is that I can shred up A TON of vegetables and add them to the sauce and then eat them without even thinking about it, or having my kids realize and refuse it. After reading posts like the one above, I've realized there are endless ways to "sneak" veggies into most foods.
   I'm not much of a baker, but I know there are vegetables (such as zucchini and carrots) that can be shredded or pureed and then added to baked goods. As a HUGE fan of zucchini bread, this is something I need to look into more! (If you have any good recipes or info. on this, please share!)
   I have a Pinterest Board devoted to fun (and mostly nutritious) kid food. When I get into on of my "Supermom" grooves, I use ideas from it a lot to make healthy snacks/meals for Grant. He LOVES them and always looks forward to meal times and eats so well when I do it (which often makes me wonder why I don't do it all the time! Same reason I don't exercise all the time even though it makes the day so much better, I guess!) and I have to admit, the "fun-ness" of it usually makes me what to eat it too! Grant and I have "tricked" ourselves into eating raw celery, bell pepper, cauliflower and cucumber (to name a few) just because they were presented in a fun way.

   

   This is an old and not very good picture. But you get the idea!