Shake it Up!

Part of my efforts to become healthier is to eat better.  This is uber hard. I have a million and one excuses I like to tell myself on various occasions to avoid eating better, like: I'll just start on Monday, I'll eat this yuckyness now and then eat better for the rest of the day, I can just do some house cleaning to burn off the extra calories etc.... Needless to say all of the excuses never amount to anything.  I don't start Monday, I don't eat better the rest of the day and I for sure don't do extra house work that would come close to burning any calories.

One thing I am getting much better at is making a protein shake.  They are easy and not to shabby in the taste department.  I will usually use almond milk (we can get it at Costco and it is not so expensive) and then some spinach (also a Costco find) I buy the big bag and then fill sandwich bags full of spinach and then freeze them so there is no waste if I can't use the spinach fast enough. This is how I do it:

 

And then I just put the baggies back in the origional bag and put it in the freezer:

 

 



 Then some fruit (frozen or fresh), a scoop of protein powder, and some ice.  I have a super duper blender that does a fabu job of blending it all up.  My kids usually will ask to share my shake with me. 

 

 

The pink stuff in the middle is strawberry banana fish oil from Barleeans. I love the stuff and so do my kids. They are always asking for their fish oil. 

 

So anyway, I am really going to make an effort to continue making better choices of what goes in my mouth.  I know that making small steps forward is always better than making any steps backwards.  I think as soon as I have a good habit down of incorporating my shake on a more daily basis, I can then decide what the next small step will be that I can focus on.  Maybe no white bread, or no eating after 8:00, or even no fast food....ever! We shall just have to see.



Rice and Beans

So this is a good one I got from my mom.  My mom is a WONDERFUL cook. My husband actually wishes she lived with us just so he can enjoy her cooking more.  And because she is such a swell lady. The great thing about this recipe is that it is pretty versitile.  You can switch things up or if you are missing something, its not that big of a deal.  You can taylor it to your likes and it will pretty much turn out good.  It's hard to mess it up. 

Here is what you will need:

2 Cans Black beans (pinto would work as well)

4 cups cooked rice (white or brown)

Shredded cheese

Chicken

Sour Cream

Salsa

Cilantro

Seasonings

I know the ingredients are not really specific on quantity.  This is just because you can do this to taste.  The basics are beans and rice.  From there you get to be the master of your own dish. 

First, brown some chicken in a skillet with some seasoning (taco, salt, pepper, cumin, etc). Meat can be optional here. Oh, this is pre-sliced chicken I got on sale.  You can just do the traditional chicken breast cooked and then chopped up.

 

Next, crack open your beans, rinse them and put them in a pan.  Add some seasoning like onion and garlic. (or don't, you decide)

Here are the toppings I used

And here is the final dish.  I love cilantro so I pile it on.  For the kids I left off the cilantro.

This has the potential to be a really healthy meal.  You can use brown rice or even quinoa. Use a low fat sour cream and sparingly on the cheese and, viola! There you go.

Change Up

I decided to change the name of this blog because I figured that the Juicing theme was only a small part of what I really want to accomplish with this.  I know that this is going to be a lot more than just the way I accomplish my goal, but the why and how much did it hurt.

 I really have always had a small giggle hiding inside when I hear the term "junk in the trunk" it is so descriptive for me.  It can have many double meanings....or triple....quadruple. Anyway, I wanted the title to be more encompassing of what I am experiencing.

Dispair

So, I was listening to the radio on the way home from my therapy appt (yes, I am such a well adjusted person because I see a therapist on a regular basis. My background is in the mental health field so I feel I am just supporting my "peeps" out there) and there was an add for the latest and greatest diet drink.  I think it was a drink....they talk so fast and want me to be sure to note that only the first 100 people to call are going to get to participate cuz gosh darn it, if you are person 101, you are out of luck! No diet juice for you!!!
 Anyway, what grabbed my attention was the phrase "diet dispair".  Why, that could be me! However; any company that thinks that I am dumb enough to believe that only 100 people are going to get their deal is a company that is not going to get my money. But I did have a long thot with myself on my state of diet despair and here is what me, myself, and I came up with.
We feel dispair. I know, deep; right? But there is so much truth in such a small, little word. I have such a feeling of dispair each time I step on that stupid scale and it shows me a number greater than the last number it showed me.  I feel dispair each time I tell myself I am going to make good choices regarding food and excercise and I don't. I feel dispair when I think of what my husband has to work with...... I feel dispair when my 4 yr old tells me she doesn't want to be fat like me.  I feel a lot of dispair.
I'm a pretty religious gal and I truly believe that in the scriptures when Christ says that he will not give us more burdens in our lives than we can handle, I believe Him.  So all the more dispair on my part.  I believe that my Heavenly Father has given me the tools and strength to accomplish what I need and to overcome any challenge, yet here I sit....fat.....unable to overcome. I hope He doesn't feel as much disappointment in me as I feel in myself. 
As I type this I have tears in my eyes.  I hope this isn't TMI but I really want to be honest with myself and what I am going thru.  I figure that there are many more out there that have similar feelings about themselves as I do. I also use this as a form of accountability for myself.  Now I think everyone has read this and is going to be watching all that enters the main portal on my face. I want people to say "hey, look at Marilyn, she did it. I know it was hard for her (cuz she let us all know) and she did it. I can do_____ as well." It may be presumptuous of me to think I could inspire anyone to do anything, but; you never know.
So this has turned into a WAY longer post than intended.  And a little more personal than intended....sorry. But, I plan on using this more regularly as a way to find the strength and motivation to accomplish what is probably going to be the hardest challenge of my life. So heres to unloading my trunk of junk and shedding my cloak of dispair.

Lets just say I didn't gain it all back

The title kinda says it all. I am going to go with the positive and say that I did do 10 days and lost 10lbs.  Not too bad.  I did ease my headaches in the process and give myself a good education on which veggies and fruits make a good juice. 

So, my quest-struggle-fight-desire to loose weight and get healthy continues.  I am pretty sure that I have coded genes that want to stay fat. I really think my body has some sort of desire to keep the chubby on.  I don't know, it's just so frustrating that all the effort in the world doesn't seem make much of a difference. 

I'm going to go back to my origional plan of just small steps to a life of health and less of the junky trunk.  I just have to keep telling myself that this is something I can do. I CAN DO hard things.  Like today, for example; I had a protein shake instead of cereal. I LOVE cereal. So I had it for lunch and dinner.  BUT, one good decision is better than no good decisions. Tomorrow will be a protein shake AND a trip to the gym. Howz that for baby steps. 

So, as I wage my daily war with myself. I will try to keep in mind that many, many more before me have fought this battle, and many more will after me.  So why can I join the ranks of those that won the war (or at least more battles than not).