Healthy Eating Tips - Do & Don't

Whether you are just looking to make healthy changes in your diet, on a weight loss journey, or looking for some healthy eating tips. Here are some simple Do & Don't for healthy eating that a VERY easy to follow. 

DO eat smaller & more frequent meals a day – smaller & frequent meals will help increase your metabolism & help keep you satisfied throughout the day. Don’t be afraid to snack, just keep the snacks healthy and nutritious

DON’T skip breakfast – your body has been fasting while you've been sleeping, your morning meal establishes a healthy metabolism throughout the day. This is why people usually say “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day” and it really truly is

DO drink – drink water. At least 8 cups of water a day to stay hydrated and help keep your stomach feeling full

DON’T drink too much alcohol – there’s a reason why “Beer gut” is a real thing. Alcohol has a lot of calories and they are all empty calories. Save the alcohol for special occasions and be smart about what you choose to drink

DO keep healthy snacks on hand – I don’t know about you but I’m a BUSY person! Running around, work, errands, family, life, it’s easy to give into bad temptations or go for something that’s FAST instead of HEALTHY. Pack snacks in advance and have easy to grad snacks sitting in the fridge just in case

DON’T service super sized portions – even on a clean diet, you don’t need to super size everything. Learn proper eating portions and stick to it!

 

5 Foods You Should Eat To Loose Weight and Stay Healthy

1) Kale - Kale has so many great health benefits and is very low in calories. Just one cup of kale has 33 calories, 3 grams of protein, 2.5 grams of fiber, vitamin A, C and K. This is great to add to smoothies and juicing or pack yourself a kale salad for lunch.

2) Yogurt - yogurt is a great snack option!! This is a good that has probiotics which is bacteria that can help you reduce the amount of fat your absorb. There are tons of different flavors out there, enough for everyone to find something they like.

3) Fruit/Veggies - another great food that you can take on the go for a snake. Veggies are an easy snake food that everyone should be eating. It's recommended that everyone eat 7 serving of fruit and veggies everyday. A good quick way to make sure your getting enough is drinking smoothies or juicing.

4) Extra - Virgin Olive Oil - this can help lower cholesterol, it contains antioxidant compounds, vitamin E and oleocanthal (which can reduce inflammation). This is great to use in your cooking and is very easy to incorporate. You can also find a lot of recipes for salad dressing which you can add to your kale salads.

5)Dark Chocolate - treat yourself! Just because you are eating healthy or trying to loose weight you can still treat yourself. Dark Chocolate is packed with disease fighting antioxidant, it can help reduce the risk of blood clots and lower blood pressure and inflammation. But remember, everything in moderation. You can eat a couple pieces a day...don't start eating chocolate by the pound and expect to loose weight or stay healthy.

Eating Healthy on a Budget

1) Shop smart - two big "no no's" are shopping when hungry or shopping when you are in a rush. Make sure to eat before you go and leave yourself lots of time. Make a list before you go and stick to it!

2) Compare the prices - Don't just grab the first thing off the shelf. Make sure you look and compare prices of brands and check flyers. The same product may be cheaper at a different store

3) Clip coupons - tons of flyers have coupons or you can find some online. Take advantage of coupons and save yourself some money

4) Buy in bulk - buying in bulk can save you some money. Keep your eyes open, especially on staples or items that you use often

5) Save your leftovers - keep your leftovers, they are great when you need a quick meal or if you need something to take for lunch

P90X Update Week 1

On October 29th I posted a picture on Instagram saying that P90X is starting in our house tomorrow. Well it did!! On October 30th I did my very first P90X workout. I really wasn't planning on blogging about this experience but I've had a lot of curiosity on how my progress is going so far. With that being said I'm going to start doing weekly updates every Friday on how things are going, how I'm felling, ect.  I encourage you to come along of this journey with me as I complete my first attempt at P90X.

P90X is a set of workout DVD's that you do every day for 90 days. On day one we started with Chest & Back followed by ad ripper. I started this day out a little slow, I don't typically do a lot of arm workouts so I would say that's probably one of the weakest parts on my body. I did the entire workout but did less weight than I probably could have.

Day two we did plyometrics, this one is no joke! You basically jump around for an hour and it's no picnic. Get ready to feel the burn and sweat it out! I really hurt after this day.

Day three we went to shoulders & arms followed by another ab ripper. My arms were soar for the previous days so I had to back off a little during the workout and the ab one is definably tough. As Tony Horton says on the DVD "Ab ripper X, I hate it but I love it" I have the same feeling about that workout.

Day four Yoga, I really enjoy yoga and have done several yoga class in the past. I very much enjoyed this as I felt it was a nice break and allowed you to stretch it out.

Day five Legs & Back followed by ab ripper. I really enjoyed this combo. Being a runner and cyclist I think my legs are the strongest part of my body.  I was defiantly able to challenge myself here and push the workout a little.

Day six Kenpo, this is an intense cardio workout so get ready to sweat!

Day seven you have two options either take a rest day or do the stretching DVD. I wanted to follow the stretch DVD, however, I came down with a slight cold that has been going around the office so I decided the smarter decision was to take the day off.

All and all I would say week 1 was a success and I am ready for week two! If you are curious about anything I didn't put in my update please leave it in the comments below and I'll include it next Friday.