One Week of Change

It's been 1 week since I started 21 Day Fix. I wasn't expecting much from it considering how much I am allowed to eat but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised when I stepped on the scale yesterday!

 I honestly thought I'd lose maybe a pound or two, not 6! I've always been pretty skeptical of any weight loss programs. I'm not a fan of sales pitches mostly because they are pretty transparent to me. My mom is an extraordinary sales woman and I know the tricks. Usually when I see adds for anything weight loss related I cringe. But I FULLY endorse this program. It's healthy and educational. I've learned so much about clean eating already and I don't feel deprived for the first time in my life. My body functions better after a week of the Shakeology and healthy eating. I can't wait to see what a month will feel like.

Anyway, If you are interested in knowing more about the stuff feel free to check out this presentation I made to explain it better. Awesome Presentation HERE!

Feel free to email me with any questions you may have! averye16@beachbody.com

Goals? I've Got Those!

Everyone has at least 1 goal, whether it's to quit smoking or take the trash out before the pick up comes. They come in all shapes and sizes and require varying amounts of effort to complete. Some are short-term, some may be longer. At the end of the day we all have some type of goal (or goals). The question is how and when will we accomplish them?

Today after hearing how in order to accomplish your fitness goals (but really this applies to any), you have to figure out your "Why". Your "Why" is the reason you are doing whatever it is you are doing. After that you are supposed to write it down where you can continuously look back at it as a reminder of why you started. In all of my years of goal chasing I have never done this and I really don't know why not. It's easy to get carried away and write down a lofty list of long and short term goals but it's not always easy to accomplish them. If you take the time to sit down and think about your "Why" for each goal perhaps we wouldn't leave so many unaccomplished. With that said, I'd like to take the time write a short list of my goals and my "Why".

Goals:

• Lose 60 pounds before my wedding day
• Lose a total of 150 pounds
• Stick to our budget
• workout daily

Why:

All of my goals correlate with each other. The first 60 pounds is so I can fit into a dress I bought a year ago that does not fit (It's also a good short term goal to keep me motivated). I want to lose weight so that I can be healthy for the family we are building. I want to stick to the budget to build a good financial future for our family and I want to workout daily to be fit, healthy, and strong for not only our family but myself. 

I've often heard that a good rule of thumb is to have attainable goals. Though I agree that they give you a good push, don't be afraid to have "unattainable" goals. Because who can really say you wont accomplish them? We don't have a crystal ball to see into the future. Go for whatever it is you want, for whatever reason and just be happy! Anyway, that's my two cents and you can take it or leave it.

Let's Talk About Bulk Shopping.

Every time I talk to my friends about my love of bulk grocery shopping they always say the same things.

"Bulk shopping is a waste of time, it all goes bad eventually."

"I can't do it.. I always spend a ton of money and don't use most of it." 

Though I completely understand where they are coming from, after years of practice I've realized that all it takes is some creativity and you can actually save money and get more.

Here are some pearls of wisdom I've gathered by learning the hard way:

1. Never buy what you wouldn't normally eat:  

I've fallen into this trap plenty of times. You walk in to the store and see this new organic item that will make you super healthy and awesome and only for the low price of $15 for a pack of 8. You get home, put it away, and tell yourself you'll try it tomorrow for months until it finally expires. DON'T DO IT. If you see a new product you think would be worth checking out, get it at a regular grocery store in a small quantity first.   

2. Don't have a "snack attack": 

What I mean is don't fill your cart with nothing but candy and chips. We learned this on our first ever trip to a Sam's club. It adds up quick and you'll find yourself pretty hungry when you realize that snack cakes and chips aren't good ingredients for a satisfying dinner.

3. Consider your storage space: 

Sure, the freezer section is glorious but be realistic. Unless you're fortunate enough to own and have the space for a deep freezer you have a very limited amount of things you can squeeze in there. Stick to necessity. If you can use it more than once (Ingredients vs. prepared meals) then it's probably worth buying. It may not be winning points for convenience but you can easily find creative ways to stretch it. Not to mention prepared food will ALWAYS cost more than just making a meal yourself.

4. Set a reasonable budget and stick to it: 

This is a big one. For all of you who have ever stepped into a bulk food store, you know how much temptation lies in every nook and cranny. Think of your family size and income go from there. We feed 3 people (myself included), a dog and a cat. Generally, we go $100 a week (which wasn't saving us anything) BUT we've recently began doing step 4 and saving $100 to $200 dollars a month by just figuring out ways to preserve perishables. 

5. Research ways to make foods last longer: 

This part also doesn't win any points for convenience and isn't for everyone. There is tons of info about what foods to freeze and other great ways of preserving out there. Also, Almond milk has a longer shelf life than regular milk. I used this list Here to help guide me. Familiarize yourself with blanching if you haven't already. It will be your new BFF.

My freezer might be to capacity but we are good for 3ish weeks

Bottom line, bulk shopping is great for anyone willing to put in a little extra effort. If you do it right you could save yourself some money and trips to the store. Good luck and happy shopping! :)

 

First Time Meal Prep!

Tonight I spent about an hour and a half prepping food for 6 days ahead. I purchased multiple food storage containers, lots of veggies and fruits and a digital food scale which I can already say paid for itself.

I didn't really prepare for my shopping trip so I was lacking enough containers for 6 days worth of lunches and breakfasts. That works out for now because the stuff I did buy probably shouldn't be left prepared for more than the 3 days worth of containers I have.

Breakfast:

1/2 cup Vanilla Honey Greek Yogurt (containing probiotics)
A hand full of fresh chopped strawberries and blueberries
1/4 cup Granola

Lunch:

1 small taco sized flower tortilla
1oz hummus
A few slices Avocado (with lemon juice to help it keep longer)
2oz Sliced Ham
1.5 oz cubed colby cheese

Dinner:

1/2 cup Quinoa & Brown Rice
3/4 Cup Sauteed Spinach, Mushrooms and Peppers (for 3 days)
3/4 Cup Steamed Broccoli Cuts (for 3 days)
2.5oz of Over Roasted Bonless Skinless Chicken Breast topped with a salt free grilling seasoning.

*Note: I would have done 3oz of chicken each day but I was short a chicken breast

I can honestly say it will be a whole lot easier eating healthy when I don't have as much opportunity to make poor choices, As the saying goes, "If you fail to plan, plan to fail" or something like that.

Budget Friendly Savings Plan!

In an effort to revive our terribly sad savings account I've created an easy system for putting away money gradually over a two year period. This plan is something I just made up on paper but I am almost positive that something like it probably exists already. The great thing about the system is it's very easy to customize to fit whatever your budget can handle. I've broken it down into a few steps to help anyone who may be interested in giving it a try.


Start by grabbing a pen and paper or opening a blank document on your computer.

Select a time frame 

Choose something that doesn't allow you to think too far ahead and overwhelm yourself. The idea is to make saving easier and more efficient. We went with a 2 year period of time.

Choose a monthly dollar amount

This can vary depending on how much you have to work with. If you are just beginning start small. Choose something easy to divide into 4 weeks. We started with $20 and had it max out at $200. This sounds more complicated than it actually is. Take a breath and scroll down to my example at the bottom if you're feeling overwhelmed.

Increase by the lowest amount each month

For example if the first month is $20 for the whole month the next would be $40 (add $20 each month) and keep going up until you reach your max (the maximum monthly amount you chose).

Divide

Somewhere beside the monthly amount write how much you would have to put into savings each week (Just stick with 4 weeks to keep it simple). Example: $60 monthly = $15 weekly

Add it all together

You don't necessarily have to do this step but it's definitely motivational. Add together all of the monthly amounts in your time frame to figure out how much total you will save.


Here is an example of the finished product:

1 YEAR SAVINGS PLAN

Aug:  $20 ($5 weekly)

Sep:  $40 ($10 weekly)

Oct:  $60 ($15 weekly)

Nov:  $80 ($20 weekly)

Dec:  $100 ($25 weekly)

Keep gradually going up until you reach your max (say $100 for the 1 year time frame) and then start from the lowest all over again the following month

 Cont.

Jan: $20  ($5)

          Feb: $40 ($10)

Mar: $60 ($15)

Apr: $80 ($20)

May: $100 ($25)

Jun: $20 ($5)

Jul: $40 ($10)

Aug: $60 ($15)

Once you're done writing it out add all the monthly amounts together and that's your total saved for that period. The total if you were to do it exactly like the example would be $720 in 1 year.


The reason I chose to do it this way is living paycheck to paycheck has made it really difficult for us to agree on a fixed amount. Often times we don't put anything in to savings because we choose amounts that overwhelm us. With this it's all baby steps and you get relief from the larger amounts which makes it a whole lot easier to justify.

Happy Saving!

         

What I'm About

This blog is kind of like a catch all for my favorite things. Sometimes I like to blog about health and fitness and other times I'll post a craft or a recipe. Either way I am very active and I like light hearted and happy things and people. Feel free to follow along!

My first real post will follow shortly.