getting started: cleaning eating.

I've heard some here and there about 'clean eating' and decided to look into it a little further.

I found this great site (The Gracious Pantry) that has so much info about it... how to get started, recipes, shopping lists, etc.

It inspired me to get started... and thus begins the process of starting to eat clean.

Main concepts of clean eating:

1. Avoid processed foods (remove chemicals from your diet and body and focus on your overall health)
2. Eat lots of plants (fruits & veggies straight from nature)
3. Eat meats that are whole and straight from the butcher (avoid buying pre-packaged meats)
4. Eat grains that are still complete (brown rice, whole wheat and other whole grains)
5. Read labels & eat fewer ingredients... try not to purchase foods that have more than 3-6 ingredients and if you can’t pronounce it, it probably shouldn’t go into your body
6. Eat 5-6 small meals per day

"Clean eating may feel a bit overwhelming at first, especially if you have a lot of changes to make. My advice is to take baby steps. Make little changes every day and don’t beat yourself up if you make mistakes. We all do. Just realize that it’s what you do the majority of them time that counts."

It mentioned that the best way to transition your fridge & pantry over to clean foods is to buy clean foods once your normal foods run out. That way it's a slower transition and isn't so overwhelming (or costly) all at once.

I decided to order some 'staple' foods from Vitacost to start building my clean pantry.

 

Simply Organic Garlic 'N Herb

YS Eco Bee Farms Raw Honey

Eden Foods Organic Black Beans

Bob's Red Mill Soy Protein Powder

Eden Foods Organic Garbanzo Beans

Westbrae Natural Dijon Style Mustard
Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Pasta Elbows
Tinkyada Brown Rice Pasta Spaghetti Style
Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Whole Grain Rolled Oats
Santa Cruz Organic Peanut Butter Dark Roasted Creamy

eating & working out.

I weighed myself yesterday and was a bit disappointed... although I should've known it was coming...

I started off the year with a good first month (losing just over 4 pounds). I was very happy with this number since I realize that losing weight (the right way) takes time.

But so far in February, I've gained some of that weight back and haven't been able to lose any.

I looked at my weekly weigh-ins and my workout check list.... and it didn't appear to add up.

For the past 6 weeks, I've been pretty faithful about working out at least 4 times a week and yet I'm not losing weight.

Then it dawned on me... FOOD!

I've been focusing on working out but have paid little attention to what I'm putting in my body... and these two things go hand in hand.

So I'd like to now start looking at the food (and amounts) I'm eating.

There are two magnets on the fridge at joefitness (where I have Bootcamp class) that I enjoyed... I think I might need to buy these and put them on my fridge as a reminder.

10k training.

Yesterday, was day #1 of my 10k training. I've decided to try and follow the program below (so I walked 20 minutes).

Since my goal is to try and get a 'personal best' for time this year, I figured I needed to get into training and be serious about it.

A friend of mine also signed up for the 10k, so I'm hoping we can encourage and keep each other motivated (and maybe do some runs together).

So here goes it... week #1 of training!

goals for february.

One month of the new year is behind me and I'm on to the second one.

With that comes new goals and the reviewing of my New Year's Resolutions...

Here were mine:
1- become healthier
2- become more toned
3- lose 35 pounds

So keeping my resolutions in mind, I've come up with the following goals...

February goals:
1- squats (1st week 25/day, 2nd week 30/day, 3rd week 35/day, 4th week 40/day, 5th week 45/day... with 3 rest days in the month) this is on top of any workouts that I do!
2- be active at least 4 days a week
3- do 5 miles of cardio a week
4- lose 5 pounds
(I'm also going to try and keep doing this one: don't eat McDonald's or any burger type fast food)

Work goals:
1- drink 4 bottles of water
2- sit on my Bosu ball for 30 minutes
3- drink 1 cup of green tea
4- go up & down stairs 8 times
(do the following things 4 of the 5 days a week)

I weighed myself this morning and I weighed 211.4 lbs (down 4.4 lbs).

"Results will show up when you do"
- Jill Koenig