Truly Living

 In today's world, we are bombarded on a daily basis with weight loss supplements, fad diets, and numerous fitness ads.  For many people who are trying to take charge of their health, it is hard to sift through all this conflicting information and start their own journey.  Their focus is usually to lose weight, not to get healthy.

This is the biggest obstacle standing between people and their fitness goals.  There has to be a shift from this obsession with just losing weight to adopting an overall healthy lifestyle.  Overall health includes proper nutrition, exercising, getting proper sleep, finding ways to cope with everyday stress, and self acceptance.
 Stressing over losing weight will NOT help a person lose weight.  Restricting calories or overexercising are not going to help you lose weight.  

For today's Friday inspiration, I want to highlight one of our veteran challenge participants and my close friend Kim.  Kim has been on an amazing fitness journey that included many ups and downs.  Her focus entering our first few clean eating challenges was to lose weight and that was it.  This proved to be frustrating for her because her focus was not in the right place.  Below is a comment Kim left halfway through our last challenge.

Kim's Evolution (hopefully this will help some of you)

My first challenge9-09

In August Dawn had been trying to talk me into doing a challenge and I immediately shrugged it off and thought there is no way I can give up cheese, sweets, and creamer in my coffee and all the other stuff. I told her no way that I couldn't do it. She has a way of making me feel her disappointment and I can't deal with that. I decided to go for it and do it, but I felt kind of like I was going to be in prison and was going to torture myself for 30 days. I said it was just for 30 days and then I can add my favorite foods back in. I did fantasize about what I was going to eat after the 30 days. I also had a lot of weight to lose and I wanted to lose as much as possible during this 30 days. To my surprise I think I lost like 5 lbs. the first week so I was liking that, but I know I still was longing for the day when I could have my favorite foods after the 30 days. It was all about losing weight that first challenge. So after the 30 days I bombed. I was trying to lose as much weight as possible before a school reunion in October and when I didn't lose enough weight I just kind of gave up.

1-10 30 day challenge -

I knew what I was getting myself into and this time my husband came along for the challenge. It was so helpful to have him cooking for me and with me. It was a great start to the New Year and we were well stocked which was good since we were snowed in most of January. After the 30 days, we were okay for a while, but my husband and I went back to our old ways again and we stopped eating clean..I think I thought that I would be able to control my appetite and stay away from certain foods when the 30 days were over. Like I could have some junk food and then the next day get right back into eating clean. That didn't happen and when I had something not clean, I kept wanting more and more not clean food. Again, I wasn't concerned with the fact that the unclean food is not good for me.

That same year I think they did a 15 day challenge and I didn't even do it. I felt awful that I didn't participate but I just couldn't, wouldn't.

December 2010 - I was trying to do my own thing and relied on Lean Cuisines a lot when I didn't want to prepare any foods. I was trying to be mindful of what I was eating and I tried to exercise here and there. I told Dawn I was going to do it my way for a while. So she naturally thought I was out for the upcoming Jan. challenge. As I had a birthday in December and Christmas came, I started to acknowledge that I have had this heel spur that wouldn't go away, a tight back, and one of my fingers seemed to have some kind of itis. I wasn't feeling good. I just turned 35 and I have 3 children under the age of 7. I want to feel better and be healthy for my kids. Of course I want to lose all the excess weight but this time, more importantly, I want to feel better. I decided to do the challenge some time between Christmas and New Years. I am going to do this challenge to cleanse my system and to see if I feel better (this was a first for me). I want control over my diet and I want to be healthy. So this time I have a totally different mentality and I know that if I am not careful eating certain foods I will be in trouble. Certain foods trigger me to go to the dark side. I will feel awful after eating the forbidden foods and may dig myself into a deeper hole. So since I have a lot of weight to lose, I know this time, It won't happen in just 30 days. I will change my lifestyle and I know I need to try to eat this way for the rest of my life. It is not hard and it doesn't seem as foreign to me since I have been learning about this way of eating through Dawn and Paul since 2009. I just wanted to share with you my experience and how I evolved over several 30 day challenges. My husband and I are going to continue eating this way and we are trying harder with our kids, but that will come in time.

 

Below Kim shares her approach to eating clean and life since our January challange.

This time I am 100 % committed and I have faith in myself this time.  This is so key and why it is so easy for me to eat clean, paleo friendly foods.  My mindset is so clear and focused and I know longer have the mind clutter going on.  For example, when I see a restaurant/food commercial or when when people are eating unclean foods in front of me, I don't even get phased by it, or, what I think is about the amount of sugar and saturated fat in the foods and say to myself things like I don't want to eat that stuff because its not healthy and I don't want to feel bad.  If there is a food that I normally don't eat and I do crave it, I just say I can wait until my open meal.  I only eat one open meal a week.  My cravings aren't very strong anymore so it really is not much of an issue and I might even forget about it by the time I eat my open meal. I love the feeling of filling myself on clean foods after I eat them.  Food is fuel/energy and I feel so much more full and satisfied after fueling up with clean foods.  I had Mexican food for my open meal last Saturday and as I was eating it, I was feeling bloated and had a small headache.  I wanted to get back home and get right back to work with my painting project that I consciously decided I would stop eating the rest of my food.  I did get back from the restaurant and we did the whole bedtime routine with kids and we got back to painting.  Since my mentality is to think about my health and what I am putting in my body and how I will feel, I have been very successful in eating clean.  I feel so good and I don't want to bring back strong cravings again by eating too many unclean (high bad fat and high sugar) foods.  Cravings are like the devil and I have the commitment and control I need to be successful against them.

 

I've been eating clean since January 3rd and now I have 1 open meal a week and I am seeing results on the scale and in how my body is changing shape.  I try to workout 3-4 times a week but I have to go with the flow and adjust since sometimes life gets in the way and I don't have time.  I am taking more time to reflect and I try to write down my feelings because it helps me to compare how I am feeling now and how I used to feel.  I also can start to see the reality of myself fitting back into my smaller clothes again soon and I truly believe everything is lining up the right way.

 

I want to help people feel the same way I am feeling, especially those who have emotional eating issues.  I was really missing out before and it is wonderful that my new clean eating lifestyle has enriched my life.  I now believe that my dependency on food was a result of my body relying on it and the messages it was sending to my brain.  Taste buds also have a memory and by taking away the tastes of certain unclean foods like fast foods, I don't crave it.  I have changed my mentality from an overweight persons to a thin persons. 

Kim ended our last challenge with a different mindset.  Weight was not her priority.  She decided that feeling good, both mentally and physically, was more important than a number on the scale.  As she focused on her health, the weight loss happened naturally.  She had many epiphanys along the way and has begun to accept herself and live her life to the fullest.  I am happy to share her story.  Kim, thanks for letting us be a part of your journey!  You are truly an inspiration!!! 
                                              

A day of clean eating

In preparation for the 15 day challenge, we wanted to give you an example of what a day of clean eating looks like in our house.  We try real hard to keep things simple.  Occasionally we will venture out and try some new recipes, but for the most part we stick to the basics.  We plan our meals around a protein source and figure out the rest from there.  We talked about snacking in our FAQ.  We try to eat enough with each meal that a snack is not necessary, but if we find we need or just want a snack we just eat more of whatever meat we have a round.

We will share how we prepare most of our meals in future posts.  This one is just to give you an idea of what we eat in a typical day.

Here is what we had to eat this past Tuesday.
It being the first day back to school after spring break, I got up with about 15minutes to get out of the house and make it to work on time.  We cooked up some spinach in olive oil.  Threw in some cauliflower and broccoli we had from the night before and some frozen Trader Joe's chicken breast.

I usually eat my breakfast in the car on the way to work.

Dawn's breakfast

Trader Joe's frozen chicken.  Great in a pinch, but does have trace amounts of sugar as a preservative.

Dawn gets more creative with the kids breakfast and this morning they had breakfast pizza made with scrambled eggs.

Will with his breakfast pizza.  Just eggs, pizza sauce, and bacon.

Kylie likes her meat on the side

For lunch I had already packed up the leftovers from our taco night Monday night and brought it with me for lunch.  The veggies are a mix of brussel sprouts, cauliflower, and broccoli.

Taco meat with salsa.  The brown stuff is guacamole after a night in the fridge.

Dawn cooked up some kale and the rest of the cauliflower and broccoli.  Tossed in some more chicken and some deli turkey from the Amish market.

Trader Joe's sparkling spring water may be as addicting as soda

As much as Kylie would like to by lunch at school everyday, she is stuck with the taco leftovers as well.  She also has carrots, apples, nuts, and water.  We do let her by lunch once a week.

Kylie's cool little lunch box.  It comes home just about empty everyday.

Dawn and Will were on the go, so she packed him some nuts, a fruit leather, and some deli turkey for lunch.

A carb, a fat, and a protein with each meal or snack.

For dinner, I cooked up several chicken breasts and for vegetables we had green beans and broccoli as well as some kale.  We cubed the chicken and also cubed up an avocado for our fat. We all had just about the same meal for dinner.

Dawn's on the left Paul's on the right

Kylie's dinner, she is more adventurous in what vegetables she will eat. She added a plate of pasta sauce so she could add a little flavor to her chicken.

Will is stuck on broccoli, carrots, and Kale chips right now.

That is it.  Looking at the pictures it does not seem like a lot, but it is all we had.  I did snack on a few nuts when I got home from work, but am trying to come off of a bit of a carb binge over the Easter weekend and trying to eat ultra clean for a couple of days.  I have a headache as I type this that I am sure is due to some sugar withdrawal.  More about that in a coming post.

Dawn and I are both very active and neither very small.  I weigh in at 185ish and Dawn is around 140 and this is plenty of food for us for the day.  If we have a particularly hard workout, we may add in another snack after that workout.  It is usually a hunk of meat with a half of a sweet potatoe or other veggie that we have on hand.

Hope that helps with wrapping your head around what you are getting into with the challenge.  Most people read about it and say, "I can't do that"  but when they see the meals they say "I would eat that."  Let us know of any lingering questions you have heading into the weekend.

How we shop for the challenge

Everything you need to complete the challenge can be found at whatever grocery store you regularly shop.  We do want everyone to understand that food quality is extremely important and the goal is to transition to a point where you are sourcing your food as fresh and as locally as possible.  With that said, if your current diet staples are frozen dinners and fast food, transitioning to meat and produce from your local grocery store would be a big improvement.  If you are already a member of a CSA and have contemplated buying your own grass fed cow, your food quality is probably pretty high, but we may still be able to provide a few shopping tips.  Here is a look at how we handle our shopping for clean eating.  It is by no means the only way to do this whole thing but we hope it helps give you and idea of whats in store.  If you have any other tips or secrets that you have found, please feel free to share.

We have found that trips to several places works best for us from both an economic and a food quality stand point.  We rely on four main places for our weekly goods.  Farmers markets(Frederick and Clarksburg), Trader Joe's, Costco, and The Amish Market.  Whole Foods is another great source of quality food, but is often too expensive for our current budget.

We try to buy all of our produce from farmers markets during the summer.  Most of our produce is organic, but even the produce that is not completely organic is local so we know that it is fresh.  We also get a delivery from South Mountain Veggies.  If you do not have a farmers market close by a grocery store produce section will work.  Here is what we look for and usually get depending on quality and availability.

2 Bunches of Kale
2 Bunches of Collards
Brussel Sprouts
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Carrots
Onions
Plantains
Grapes
Squash(acorn, butternut, spaghetti, zucchini, yellow)
Peppers

We also have sort of a tradition of playing stump the cashier at the grocery store.  We will by a strange looking fruit and shrug our shoulders when the cashier asks us what it is.  We then take it home and figure out how to cook it.  This is how we discovered leeks.

One grocery store trick that we share each challenge is the idea of shopping the perimeter of the store.  All of the good stuff that you need can be found there; produce, meat, eggs, seafood, and the deli counter provide most of what you need for clean eating.  You may have to venture into the aisles for olive oil and some spices, but leave all the other boxed things alone.  One of the key requirements to food being acceptable in this challenge is it's need to die.  If it can be kept for months on end, that is a good clue that you don't want it in your body. 

Trader Joe's is a great place, but don't be fooled into the thinking that it has to be healthy if it is from Trader Joe's.  They sell plenty of junk as well.  Be an informed consumer and read your food labels.  You will be surprised with what you will find.  Below is the list of our weekly staples from Trader Joe's.
Nitrate free bacon
Macadamia Nuts
Kerrygold Butter(technically dairy, but from grass fed cows so we are ok with it)
Cage free eggs
Almond Meal
Fruit Sticks
Almond butter with roasted flax seed
Trader Joe's sparkling spring water (great help for those with a soda addiction)
Frozen grilled chicken strips(great when you are in a pinch)

Costco is our go to for the bulk items.  The following is our weekly Costco list.  Sams has the same things.
Raw Almonds
Avocados
Sweet peppers
2 large bags of spinach
Asparagus (if it looks good and is in season)
Strawberries
Blueberries
Chicken sausage
Rotisserie chicken
Frozen Flounder or Salmon
Frozen Shrimp
Fish oil
We also stock up on some of the common seasonings at costco(sea salt, pepper, garlic, etc.)

Finally we make a weekly stop at the Amish Market In Germantown.  While their meat is not grass fed, it is pastured and humanely treated and brought down fresh weekly.  You can definitely tell the difference in the taste and the cost is comparable to what you would pay in the grocery store.  This is what we get from the Amish Market.
Bacon
Deli Meat (usually roasted turkey or chicken)
Loose sausage
4lbs of ground beef
a steak or a roast

We have recently come across a great grass feed meat source at the Frederick Farmers Market.  They are called Shagbark Farms and their beef is all grass fed and reasonably priced.  Their pork is pastured and a good deal as well.  The bacon is the best I have ever tasted!  If you are up in the area on Saturdays from 10-1 check them out.

This list is extensive and we pick and choose what we get based on the menu we come up with for the week and what is on sale.

Frequently Asked Questions

The response has been great so far and we have a good mixture of challenge veterans and newbies jumping on board.  You may be on the fence wondering if something like this is worthwhile for you.  It is. Any experience that makes you work a little, think a little, and makes you a little bit uncomfortable is always worth it, even if it does not seem like it during the experience.

Our plan is to treat this one like a new challenge and start from the beginning.  We will link to old posts when we feel it is relevant, but will try hard to find new and fresh ways to present the info you will need. Our approach to clean eating has evolved over the years and yours will also.  Understand that it is a process and it takes time.  Stick with the process and you will be amazed by the results.

We have put together a frequently asked questions post in the hopes of addressing some of the more common questions that pop up.  We hope it helps you prepare for the 15 days. 

This sounds like The Paleo Diet?
It is.  We base our recommendations on those found in The Paleo Diet.  We do not call it The Paleo Diet because we have found that allegiance to various diets can take on a cult like obsession that manifests itself in two ways.  First, people obsess with finding foods that conform regardless of their quality.  This leads to things like paleo pancakes, cookies, bread, etc. and totally misses the point of the challenge.  The other extreme is an obsession with eating and doing only what paleolithic people did.  We don't care if cave men and women ate a particular food.  We are only concerned with the effects of that food on our bodies.

What do I eat for Breakfast?

Breakfast seems to be a tough one for many people.  Mainly because we are conditioned to think in terms of certain foods as being set aside for our morning meal.  It will take a mind set change to accept that breakfast is no different than lunch or dinner and you eat a serving of protein, a serving of carbs, and a serving of fat.  That could mean bacon eggs and some fruit with a hand full of nuts or grilled chicken breast, brussel sprouts and half an avocado.   Your body does not know the difference, it's your brain telling you what you had for dinner the night before is not breakfast.

What do I eat for snacks?

You will start to see a pattern here in that conditioning has played a large role in our current eating habits and the results can be found in our current state of health and on our waistline.  We just started t-ball with the kids and one of the most important duties a t-ball coach has to deal with is the organization of a snack list.  If the game were to end without some small bag of processed crap and a pouch of sugar water, you would see 4 year old's in a bench clearing brawl.  I am starting to realize where the whole snack thing starts.  That is not to say you can not snack.  The great thing about this way of eating is that when you are hungry you eat and you eat until you are no longer hungry.  As long as you are eating good quality foods it does not matter what you eat.  So to answer the question for a snack you should eat chicken breast, brussel sprouts, and the other half of the avocado.  We have found that once we level out our blood sugars, the every two hour hunger pains go away and three meals a day keeps us full and happy.

There are some vegetables I just can't eat what do I do?

Not true.  There are some vegetables you won't eat, but there are none that you can't eat, with the exception of nightshades which can cause an allergic reaction in some.   Our bodies crave three things sugar, salt, and fat.  We crave them because they were very rare and mostly seasonal, back in the day.  Today we just need to go to the vending machine and we can find all three and cheap.  This constant consumption of high fat, high salt, and high sugar food causes our taste buds to become desensitized and before long you lose the ability to appreciate the subtle sweetness of a butternut squash, or how a tiny bit of sea salt can make kale taste so good.  Eventually you reach the point where you are adding salt to the salt laden movie popcorn and dipping your strawberries in sugar because they are not sweet enough.  That was a bit of a rant, but the point is don't decide before you try a vegetable that you don't like it or can't eat it.  I am amazed at the things I am eating now that I would not have touched even two years ago.

No Milk?  What about Calcium and Vitamin D?

We did a post on this here where we give reasons not to consume milk, but it keeps popping up.  It is interesting to note that Americans lead the world in both milk consumption and osteoporosis.  The issue at hand is not how much calcium is consumed but how much is absorbed and it deals with the acid/base balance of the blood.  We will cover it more in-depth with a post.

I only eat whole wheat bread, that's OK right?

No.  It is our position that our gut is not adapted to consume grains of any kind.  Grains do contain carbohydrates, proteins, and some vitamins and minerals, but they also contain antinutrients called gluten, lectin, and phytates.  These antinutrients act as a defense system for the wheat preventing predation from fungi and insects or anything else that tries to prevent it from reproducing.  This includes us.  Our digestive enzymes are unable to break down these antinutrients and they can damage the lining of the small intestine and possibly pass through the lining of the small intestine and into the blood stream causing all kinds of issues.  This is known as "leaky gut."

If I cheat am I eliminated from the challenge?

No.  This spring challenge is more of a reset.  A true elimination challenge where our intent is to heal the gut and find out what foods cause you the most problems last 30 days.  The rewards in this challenge are all personal and our ultimate goal is to improve your health.  While the expectation is completely clean for 15 days, we are an imperfect bunch  and you will benefit from as many days clean as you can muster.  So if you fall off the wagon don't go on a five day bender, jump right back in and finish off the challenge.

Can't you get bored eating this way?

We hear this often and it usually comes from people who stop at McDonalds and get the same sausage egg and cheese breakfast meal deal five days a week.  Check out the Robb Wolf Food Matrix  to see how you can make 81,000 different clean meals.

It seems like a lot of saturated fat what about my cholesterol?

This is a tricky one and has many working parts to it.  We will dedicate a post to this as well, but clean eating  can be done without consuming large amounts of saturated fat.  We feel strongly and will make a case that saturated fat has been unfairly vilified and is not the poison that is causing all of the cardiovascular disease in the world.

Why would I want to participate in this?
You want to lose weight, you have no energy, you have autoimmune issues(crohn's, celiac, diabetes, arthritis, psoriasis, etc. the list is long), you want to look good naked, you want more self discipline and self confidence, you are ready for a change, you like a challenge, etc. The obvious improvements will be in your health, with weight loss, more energy, better mental clarity, better skin complexion, disease prevention etc. But the less obvious benefits include the confidence grown from gaining control of the addiction that many of us have to processed food and sugar. An addiction that can be just as strong as one to alcohol or drugs and just as hard to break.The reasons are many, but what we have found through doing this challenge ourselves and from the many people who have completed it, is that it will improve your knowledge about food and your relationship with it. It will change your life. 

Many of us have issues with certain types of food and we do not even know it. The goal of this challenge is to spend 15 days eating nothing but naturally occuring REAL food and allow your body time to cleanse itself and recover from the inflammation and irritation caused by our current eating practices. There are many benefits to participation, but lets be real, bathing suit and wedding season is just around the corner, what more motivation do you need?

What about deli meat?

This is one of the areas where we have changed our stance a bit.  We used to be OK with deli meat in moderation as a protein source and kept plenty around especially for the kids lunch, but recently found out that most deli meat contains gluten in the form of a preservative.  You can find gluten free deli meat, but if it sliced on a slicer with other meats you will still be exposed to the gluten.  Not a huge problem unless you have celiacs.  As with everything else food quality is of utmost importance.  If you are going the deli meat route, make sure it's gluten free.

Can't I just complete the challenge on Lara Bars, Sunbutter, and nuts?

No.  We introduced these gems during our first challenge as a way help people get through the tough times and they quickly became the go to food for many.  They taste great and are easy to snack on and can quickly become the one thing preventing you from seeing results, especially in the form of weight loss.  Go easy on them if at all.

What about naturally occurring sweeteners like agave, stevia, etc.?

 Small isotopes of plutonium can occur naturally also, but we don't want to eat that either.  It does not matter if it occurs naturally or is made in a lab, anything that the body processes as sugar causes a spike in insulin and will have an adverse effect on our efforts in this challenge and ultimately our health.

Seriously, Why no alcohol?

Most alcohol is made from grains and contains the antinutrients we are trying to avoid.  Alcohol is also extremely high in calories while offering no nutritional benefit.  Finally alcohol is a neurotoxin or nerve poison which effects parts of the brain, explaining your behavior after a few drinks.

Alright last question......for now.  Do either of you have nutrition degrees?  Why should we believe what you say?

Fair question and as our challenges spread we want to provide full disclosure.  We are not nutritionists and we hope that you would not just believe what we say because we say it.  Our goal is to educate people and everything we recommend we have tried ourselves.  We are both certified trainers who have spent the last five years experimenting on ourselves and sharing what we have learned with our clients and friends.  Collectively we have attended more than 100 hours of nutrition certifications and seminars and are passionate about our study of the latest research through books, blogs, podcasts, and lectures.  We both have degree's in education from the University of Maryland and I have a Masters degree in curriculum and instruction from McDaniel College and have been teaching high school physical education for the past 14 years.  Dawn taught elementary school for 7 years and stopped teaching when our second child was born.  Her goal is to pursue a degree in holistic nutrition when he goes to kindergarten.

That is a bunch to chew on for now.  The problem with FAQ's is that they usually cause more questions than they answer.  Feel free to ask any questions in the comment section.  We will have several posts up this week as we gear up for the challenge.

The Spring 2011 Clean Eating Challenge

Alright ladies and gentlemen, you had to know it was coming.  It is time that we face the biggest challenge most of us have with achieving lasting health and fitness and tackle it head on.  Our Spring 2011 15 Day Clean Eating Challenge will begin on Monday May 2nd an run until Monday May 16th.  Many of you have done a challenge before and just need a reset and some have yet to jump on board.  The 15 day format of the spring challenge lets you dip your toe in and test the water without the commitment of our usual 30 day challenges.

"I eat pretty good, what is clean eating and why should I do it?"

No, you don't.  Clean eating is a term we have come up with to describe a way of eating that controls inflammation in the body.  We use whole, unprocessed,  naturally occurring foods and eliminate those foods that are known to cause issues within the gut and ultimately inflammation. You should do it because it could quite literally save your life.

"Change my life?  That's a pretty bold statement, what do you mean? and I do eat good, I had oatmeal for breakfast and a salad for lunch today!"

When we first started these challenges we were uncomfortable making that claim and only did so because it changed our lives.  Since then, every challenge we do, we have people share with us how their participation in the challenge has changed their lives for the better.  Whether you successfully complete the challenge or not, your life will be changed, either through your habits or through knowledge and questioning the standard American diet that is thrust upon us.  Oatmeal for breakfast?  We will get into that later.

"Alright, I'm in just tell me what to eat and I will eat it and by the way, how much weight will I lose with this diet?"


If it were only that easy we would all be walking around naked, because we would look so good.  We will tell you what not to eat and give you suggestions about foods that we think make you more healthy and explain why they do so, but the bulk of the work to design and come up with a way to make this lifestyle (not diet) work for you is going to be up to you.  You will lose as much weight as you need to.  This is the first of many times you will hear this.  THIS CHALLENGE IS NOT ABOUT LOSING WEIGHT, IT IS ABOUT GETTING HEALTHY!  Sorry, had to get that out.  

Well if your going to get snooty, every other diet I have done tells me how much weight I am going to lose and what to eat.  Some even gave me my meals!

And how's that working out for you?  Sorry, that's mean.  We have learned through our past challenges that any lasting change in eating has to start in the brain with  a focus on changing behaviors that have been en-grained in us for years and years. The people who stay motivated and see success in our challenges keep their focus locked on improving their health  rather than aesthetic goals such as weight loss. Invariably, all of the rest tends to fall into place.

"All right, I'm putting my scale away and focusing on my health, although bathing suit season is just around the corner.  What else do I need to do to get in on this challenge and how much does it cost?"

Great! We look forward to you joining in.  Remember, the transition to better health starts in your mind.  We have experienced in our challenges, as well as read in several others, that people begin losing weight the day that they stop caring about it.  So this bathing suit season will be your best yet.  Getting started is really very simple.  Leave a comment below letting us know you are in. If we do not already have your e-mail send us that and we can make sure you get updates.  There is no charge other than the cost of the real, whole, unprocessed food you will be buying over the next few weeks.  Initially your grocery bill will go up, but we will share a few tricks we have learned to help lower your grocery bill.  We also encourage everyone to be an active part of the experience through the comments section of our blog.  The shared experience is so much more powerful than one in isolation.  We all go through similar processes and sometimes a small trick, tip, or recipe, shared through the comments, goes a long way to helping another make it through the first week.  

"Sounds good, as they say in poker I'm all in, but still not sure what I am supposed to eat and not eat." 
 
Awesome!  The biggest step is making the decision to commit to something.  Below is more info on the "rules" of the challenge.  Over the next several days we will have posts that help you get set up for our May 2nd start.  The key to this whole thing is preparation and we will make sure you have all of the info you need for success. 

"Oh, one more thing,  I have a friend who would love this can I forward this to them?"

Absolutely, the more the merrier. 

What you can eat during the 15 days: 

Meats

Vegetables

Fruits

Nuts 

Seeds

Oils

What you Cannot Eat during the 15 days:

Grains

Dairy

Legumes

Sugar

Alcohol

Click here for a more detailed explanation from last year's spring challenge.

Don't forget to leave a comment letting us know you are in and we will spend the next week preparing you for success.

Friday Inspiration

I came across this video when checking out the CrossFit Annapolis blog yesterday and had to share.  I have seen it about 6 times now and it still gives me goose bumps.  Happy Friday and for those on spring break next week enjoy.  We plan on getting several posts saved and will send out info soon on our spring 15 day clean eating challenge.  Bathing suit season is just around the corner.

Another Year In The Books!

If you really want to make time fly, have kids.  Can you believe how big Kylie is?

The time has come and another birthday is approaching.  I will be turning 34 on Thursday and have decided that another year of life deserves a blog post:)  Only 6 more years and then the big 40.  I truly believe in the saying that you are only as old as you feel and I feel more alive and happy with each passing year.  Here are a few random and rambling thoughts on the year that quickly passed me by!

• I have always been big on reflecting on my exercise goals and am always changing them, but one constant remains.  I need to do some type of exercise everyday.  Exercise provides me with a mental and physical outlet that helps me to be a better mom, wife, daughter, trainer, etc. 
• Along with exercise, I need alone time every day in order to clear my head, pray, and prepare myself for the day ahead.  I may not want to always get up at 5:15, but I am always thankful that I did and enjoy that hour of peace and tranquility.  I feel happy and at peace.  
• Ready for this one......I can live without coffee(can you believe I actually said that!)  I will save the details for another post, but I am happy to say that I kicked my coffee addiction. Click here to read about my coffee addictions. I know that it will be easy to slip back to my heavy coffee drinking days, but I love not relying on caffeine anymore!
• Cheat meals are no longer worth it to me.  I can't believe I said that either, but my body is so sensitive to crap food that it completely rejects it and I pay for it big time!  I felt bad for scrapping our family pizza night, but it had to be done! 
• I have been eating less nuts and sticking to coconut flakes, coconut milk, and avocados as my main fat sources.  This has been working for me and I leaned way out when I started doing this. This wasn't my goal, but it just started happening naturally.
• It is extremely important that my children eat the same way Paul and I do.  It is my responsibility to provide them with the right foods and I can't let anyone else dictate my choices.  Like my amazing client and friend Pete always says...."They will thank you one day!"  It is an uphill battle, but I am FINALLY ready!

Another year is over and it has been full of surprises!  The field of Health and Fitness is changing for the better and I am happy to be a part of the process.  The more people we reach with our message, the better.  I can't wait to see what another year brings!

Listen to your body

Paul and I are always harping on the benefits of eating whole, natural foods and the benefits are really endless.  Last week was just another testament to why we eat this way. 

Before we changed our eating habits, I thought it was normal to have chronic sinus infections, asthma like symptoms on a daily basis, and energy lulls that would cause me to fall asleep on the floor while playing with my daughter.  A nagging discomfort in my stomach as well as bloating and bad sleep were also the norm for me.  My high school friends, still to this day, make fun of me for always having tissues under my pillow at night since all I ever did was blow my nose!  Fast forward to my 30's(that is how long it was before I discovered real food) and I am so in tune with my body that it is scary.  I know which foods irritate my body.  For instance, on the rare occasion that Paul and I eat real pizza(not eggplant pizza) on a Friday night with our kids, my chest gets tight and I will actually wheeze. When I decide to eat a little bit of cheese here or there, my nose gets congested and I have flashbacks of my bad sinus days.  These annoyances do not keep me from indulging in these foods every once in a while because I know what to do to get my body feeling good again.  Being in tune with your body also helps you fight off the occasional illness. 

A few times this winter, including last week,  I felt run down and lacked energy.  I would get a few random headaches and was not as hungry as I usually am.  I immediately knew I was fighting something and I knew what I had to do if I wanted to feel 100% again.  I went to bed right after the kids went to bed even though I had 5 million things to do.  I ate tons of veggies even though I wasn't as hungry, and cut my workouts out completely.  I knew I couldn't indulge in a glass of wine, some dark chocolate with sun butter, or a few pieces of pizza on the weekend because my immune system was fighting something.  All these steps help me get back on track as fast as possible. 

It sounds so trivial, but it is really huge when you have to keep up with kids and work as well as extra stresses that come your way.  Taking care of yourself is key and knowing what steps to take to ensure that you are always at the top of your game are so important.  Everyone should take the time to listen to their bodies.  You only have one so it makes sense to keep it in tip top shape:)