Cutting Back

Source: thehealthychange.tumblr.com via Jenny on Pinterest

I've been reading a bit lately about eating healthier. A few articles I've read make a good point--if you don't eat healthy, no amount of exercise is going to give you the body you desire.  I can bust butt at the gym for an hour a day 6 days a week, but if I go home and refuel with donuts and cake, I'm not going to see results.  That might seem obvious, but what about refueling with white bread and jam, or oatmeal with a heap of brown sugar?  Those also might seem healthy, but the more I read about processed foods, like white flour and sugar, the more I wonder about removing them from my diet.

Source: tumblr.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

I don't plan on going all or nothing.  I think moderation and balance (see this awesome post!) is truly the key here, but over the past few weeks, I've become more conscious about what I'm eating.  Yesterday was my first "sugar-free" day, and it went surprisingly well.  Instead of adding my usual brown sugar to my oatmeal, I sweetened it with stevia.  I avoided a piece of tempting fudge at youth group, and I was overall cautious about sugar.  I will not cut down on the amount of fruit that I eat, because I believe it is still healthy, even though it contains sugar (in its natural form though).  I did however (and plan to continue) avoid/limit any added sugars.  My goal is also to avoid white flour as much as possible also.  I know that I won't be able to avoid all processed foods 100% because there are times that I have no control over what is served to me (like a party tonight, and Sunday dinners).  Like I said, I believe in moderation.  If I deprive myself, I'll be more likely to binge on the unhealthy foods. 

Mike and I have a vacation coming up with his family in May, and so I have just over 3 weeks before we leave.  I'm curious to see how avoiding processed foods will impact my body in the next few weeks.  While I don't plan on overeating and making a pig of myself, I do not intend to deprive myself of anything on our cruise.  It's my first experience, and I'm not going to miss out!

Are there foods that you avoid?

Cleaning up

Over the past few weeks I've really been thinking about how I'm fueling my body.  I do a great job with exercising daily, and I do okay with eating, but I feel like I should be doing more.  If I spend so  much time working out (which I love!), I think I should also be more conscious of what I'm eating.  I know that because I'm a runner and currently doing the Bootcamp program (which is fairly intense!), I need to fuel my body with healthy food to encourage optimal performance and muscle growth and repair.

I feel like I lie to myself about what I really eat.  I tell myself I eat healthy, yet I hear of people who limit themself to one sweet snack/treat a week, while mine is more like one a day.  I don't feel like I have to measure up to those people, but I think I can do better!  Most of the time, I really do eat a healthy and balanced diet, but like most people I have weak spots.  I can go an entire day eating healthy foods, but if you were to put a piece of cake in front of me, I would eat it.  I'm not saying eating cake is bad, but I do think that some of the ingredients could have a negative effect on my body.  I know I eat way too much processed food (thought I eat very few of the ones listed below)! 

Source

I've looked into doing cleanses, or diets, but I don't want to be on a diet.  This needs to be a way of life, not a temporary thing.  I've looked into Paleo or Vegan diets, but I feel like those are so restricting.  I'm definitely not ready to cut out entire food groups, especially ones that do still have health benefits.

I'm going to begin focusing on eating whole foods. Mostly fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. I'd like to completely cut out processed foods, especially those that contain refined sugars and high-fructose corn syrups. I know there are arguments for and against all kinds of sugars, but I'm trying to find something that works for me. I think this is going to be a bit of a challenge because I do use sugar and white flour in a lot of my blog recipes, so I'm going to have to either control how much of that I eat, find substitutes, or not eat what I bake!

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I'm curious if you follow a Paleo, Vegan, or Whole foods diet... What kind of advice do you have for me?  What kind of challenges do you face?  And, most importantly, do you have any good recipes to share with me?

If you don't follow one of those diets, do you watch what you eat?  Does it matter to you?

My Heart

Will beat 110,972 times, pump 1,628 gallons of blood, and push that blood nearly 10,311 miles throughout my body!
Created by MyFitnessPal.com

Created by MyFitnessPal.com

I calculated this by entering my personal info (height, weight, and exercise) into a calculator.  Give it a try!

Today, my heart will pump around 1,628 gallons (6,154 liters) of blood

In my lifetime, my heart will pump 1.2 million barrels of blood

(that's the equivalent of 3 supertankers)

My body contains about 2 gallons (7 liters) of blood

This blood circulates through my body 3 times a minute

My blood travels around 10,311 miles a day (16,590 km)

(roughly halfway around the circumference of the earth)

If I make a fist with my hand, my heart is about this size

(A whale's heart is roughly 400 times this size)

My entire cardiovascular system, if laid from end to end, is over 38,667 miles (62,215 km) long!

(that's long enough to wrap around the world more than twice)

My heart beats approximately 110,972 times a day

(by the time I die, my heart will have beat more than 2.5 billion times)

Saving Money on Healthy Items

I discovered a new website the other day and I'm super excited about it!  Excited enough to share it with you! 

The website is called VitaCost and it offers reduced cost vitamins, supplements, and other healthy items!  It is the internet's leading wholesale nutritional supplement store.  But it offers so much more than just supplements...

I've been dealing with knee pain from running, and I told Mike I wanted to start taking glucosamine to see if that would help.  I found some on VitaCost for a fraction of what I would have paid in the store.  I also found garlic powder at an insanely low price!  There are so many things I would love to buy, and I know in the future I will because the prices are so low.  Things like: flax seeds, rice flour, almond butter, protein powders, baking mixes.  Seriously, I could go on and on!

My nutritionist/chiropractor has me on a Thyroid complex and Trace B-12 supplement right now, along with fish oil.  They were not cheap to buy from her, but I found them for so much cheaper at VitaCost and I'll be ordering my next round there!

I really like how they ship your order out the same day (if you order before 4pm) and shipping is a flat fee of $4.99 (free for orders over $49!) There are constantly deals, both a weekly and daily special, on top of their already lower prices.

I'm sharing this with you because I know how much you like to save money, and I know some of you are on a health journey as well.  Right now, VitaCost is also offering referral rewards.  This means when you sign up through my link, we both get $10 to spend!  (Then you can invite your friends and get rewards from them!)  It's a win-win for both of us.  You can get $10 worth of free products and only spend $4.99 for the shipping...can't go wrong with that!  Give it a try and let me know what deals you found :)