Start it up!

I've been meaning to write a blahg regarding my healthy lifestyle, and haven't had the balls to do it. Maybe because I thought it would be boring? Maybe I thought that it would make me accountable to others? Myself? Either way, I get asked all the time about what I do to stay in shape, and how hard it is, and my lifestyle. People seem to think that I must spend all of my time in a gym and eat only lettuce. Which is 100% NOT TRUE. I don't even HAVE a gym membership!! And believe me, I eat MORE now than I ever did before! It's one of my favorite topics, because it transformed my mind and life so much. So this is a perfect medium to, not only keep myself on track, but to hopefully help motivate and share with others. And I might as well just stop talking about it and start blahging about it.

It started almost 2 years ago. I was living in a condo with a friend, and since I'm a HUGE fan of cooking, I picked up a book that she had lingering in the pantry, called "The Eat-Clean Diet: Recharged!" by Tosca Reno. I'm not exaggerating when I say, it totally changed my life.

If you're reading this in the same mindset as I was in those 2 years ago, which was never having heard of the concept of clean eating before, let me explain.



The basics of the clean eating lifestyle are:

Eating lean proteins, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats
Eating whole, natural foods
NOT eating refined sugars, bad fats, preservatives, white breads.
"If man made it, don't eat it!"
Eating 5-6 small meals per day

So, following these principles, I threw out all of the white flour, white sugar, processed foods, etc in my pantry and fridge, and started anew. The one thing that the clean eating life stresses is that it is NOT A DIET. It is a LIFESTYLE. Your stomach should NOT be a waste basket!

YOU WILL NOT BE EXPECTED TO:
-starve yourself
-count anything, like calories, points, grams, etc
-buy pre-packaged, pre-portioned food
-take pills, shakes or potions

DIETS: a feeling of deprevation, lethargy and feeling like you're MISSING something. You're giving up something. Bad fats, processed foods, etc are not GOOD for your body. In fact, they're poisining your body! So once I realized that I wasn't giving up anything, in fact, I was GAINING healthy eating habits, it just became second nature.





DAMMIT. I just realized that I sound like a perky infomercial. Long and short:

THIS SHIT WORKS.




Months after committing myself to it, I began to feel better. I was waking up earlier. I was perkier. I was 'regular'. <- (yes, that's a poop reference.). I had more energy. And here's the kicker- I was shedding weight like crazy. Without increasing my fitness at ALL. It was all the eating. And I was eating MORE than I ever had before! Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, supper, snack.

I fell off the wagon for a little while due to vacations, people, schedule, excuse, excuse, excuse. And yep, I gained weight and became lethargic and weighed down again. So long story short, I 'cleaned up my act' so to speak, and am back on it. And I'm back to where I was before I fell of the health train. So now, I'm also adding some fitness goals into the mix as well.


So feel free to join me! I'm going to share my meals, etc. Most of the dinners I make are from "The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook" and some from "The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook 2" by Tosca Reno, so if you feel so inclined, find these books and follow along! (as I'm pretty sure Tosca would be pissed about me sharing her recipes all over the place, and there's likely legal issues involved with that). Otherwise, I'll share recipes, and encourage you to do the same for me! I'm always looking for new 'clean' things to eat!

What I DON'T want this to be is just a "Hey, look at me and how healthy I am!" blahg. I want this to be the opportunity to share, inspire, and motivate with others. I want to show how easy it can be, and I want to point out how little changes can make a big difference.

As I post this, I am eating warmed up "Smooth and Hearty Borscht-style Beet Soup" from the E-CD Cookbook 2. A lot of the time, since there are only 2 of us in our household, I'll make a huge batch of whatever I am cooking, and I'll jar and/or freeze the leftovers. This makes quick lunches and express suppers easy, because it's already made! Pop it into a saucepan (or microwave it, but I try to stay away from the microwave as much as I can), and voila!

Happy Journey!!!