Several of you have asked me about our clean eating diet...so here goes. Back in January I was just sitting at my computer probably blogging, and Honey came in and told me about a website called bodybuilders.com. After perusing through the before and after pics I was in. WE were in. We've always loved exercise, but the eating part for us has been really hard to master.
This pic is how I looked that day. Not bad, but definitely some pudge. I wanted to get that lean look. Didn't know if it was possible, but we were ready to try. So for the next several weeks we started a very clean diet of basically egg whites, oatmeal, chicken breasts, sweet potatoes, asparagus and cottage cheese. Needless to say that strict diet got old really quickly. But during that process Honey and I both started shedding the puffy look. The bloat was finally melting.
I wrote down everything that went in my mouth. The goals was to eat 5 or 6 times a day. A lean protein with a good carb at every meal. No processed foods. No sugar. The cravings were out of control at first. It was awful. We were really used to eating whatever we wanted. We would have "dirty" talk about food. It was hilarious. I have to say having Honey do this with me is the ONLY way it has been successful...because I'm a weakling. I love food, especially SUGAR!
{These were at 4 weeks and 7 pounds later}Our goal was to change our eating habits...to be healthy and in the process feel good about our bodies. I can't believe it's been 6 months now. I've lost about 6 more pounds since those pics. Honey has lost almost 20 pounds too. What used to seem impossible is now obtainable. Nothing is sweeter than that:)
(Dad's Great Green Chili)
The days of plain sweet potatoes and a baked chicken breast are gone. We couldn't continue with that day in and day out. So I had to get creative. I really don't like cooking, but unfortunately you have to cook to eat clean. We also have our staples like Subway and have scoured every restaurant's menu to tweak it to fit into our new lifestyle. No one makes it easy. That's for sure.
I found a few cookbooks to be lifesavers. Bill Phillips, Eating for Life is a really good one. The Green chili recipe is yummy. There is also Tosca Reno's various Eat Clean cookbooks. Very inspirational.
Frittatas are easy too. Just saute some of your favorite veggies (I use asparagus, mushrooms, and an onion potato mix) add egg whites and cook in the skillet lifting sides to seep egg mixture...cooking for 5-7 minutes. Once almost set add some low fat cheese and broil for 4-5 minutes until brown.
Then our staple...grilled chicken/strawberry salad. We add some red onion, low fat feta cheese and a few croutons. We found a really good lite balsamic vinaigrette and voila...dinner:)
Well one of our kiddos...a.k.a. crumb snatchers just happened to ask him for a bite and...
WATCH OUT!!!
Oh my gosh this picture cracks me up!
That's what eating no sugar for months on end will do to you:)
All this to say that after doing good for months at a time...the two trips and my folks coming kind of derailed me a little. I've had a hard time getting back to writing stuff down. I'm treating myself a little too often and the cravings are back. I haven't really gained weight, but I feel soft. So I wrote this to remind myself of all our hard work and to remember how good it felt to eat clean.
As my favorite fitness guru Jillian Michaels would say:
"Trying is planning to Fail.
Why do you choose failure when success is an option!
Don't try - DO.
Don't tell me you can't!"
I figure if those people on her show can endure what they go through to transform their lives so can I:)
Have a blessed day.
