The Intentional Habit of Tracking

Welcome to the third week of our Habits of the IntentionallyFit series! So far we’ve talked about goals and using meal plans. This week we’re going to continue our discussion of the Habits of the IntentionallyFit with an organizational tactic that has changed my own personal health and fitness.

Keep a log or journal of your food and workouts.

Writing everything that you eat into a journal changes your perspective on what you put into your mouth. I’m not exactly sure how it does this, but seeing your food choices on paper really causes you to think of what your goals are and contemplate the consequences for your choices. I hate having to write down poor food choices on my log!

There is accountability in writing down your food choices and workouts. If you don’t see the progress that you desire, you can look back over what you have been doing and tweak changes where necessary.

Writing or logging your food and workouts can be motivating! You can make goals like being able to write down 3 workouts this week or getting enough water in every day. This will help you keep your goals in the front of your mind and help you make choices that move you towards them.

Your journal or log can be on paper or even your phone. There are even apps that help you keep track of everything like myfitnesspal or LoseIt! It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it does need to work for you.

Whatever you choose to use as your log, here are a couple of things to keep in mind.

  1. Be specific. Write down everything you eat, including condiments, cooking oils, and drinks. Include the amount you use, not just what the food item is.
  2. Write down how you feel at the end of each day. Are you tired, hungry, and do you have enough energy to make it through your workout?
  3. Be consistent. It will take time and you will get better at it, but it does take work!

Budget Friendly (and healthy) Carb Choices

Hey everyone! If you have just joined us, you are just in time. We have been talking about budget friendly ways of filling our 21 Day/Portion Fix colored buckets. I’ve saved everyone’s favorite yellow bucket for last! Most people I talk to have no difficulties getting all their yellow buckets in, but I still want to help you find the most economic way possible. So onward to the yellow bucket!

Corn tortilla
Tortillas are a staple in my home, in fact they have replaced bread entirely. Whole wheat ones, while they are not extremely pricey, do tend to creep up in price when you only get 8-10 in a pack. Corn tortillas can come in stacks of thirty while being under $2 and even at two per serving that’s quite a bargain.

Beans
There are so many varieties of beans out there and they are full of fiber! It is so good to add these little carbs into your meal plan. You can find cans of beans for under seventy cents, but the real budget cutting ones come dry and in a bag. They require a little extra work but if you are serious about cutting costs this is a big help!

Brown Rice
Another cost saving gem is brown rice. You don’t have to pick the fancy stuff, the unbranded or store brand works just as well for a side of rice, unless of course you’re making sushi, but that just doesn’t fit with the cost cutting budget.

Lentils
Another great “dry good” that saves you money! Small batches really last and you could easily have a bag that lasts two to four weeks that costs you under $3!

Potatoes
Okay, I might be pushing it here, but based on the size of the yellow bucket, I feel like you can get a lot of servings depending on the type of potato and the season. My favorite is a sweet potato, but those little red new potatoes can be pretty cost effective during the right season.

Five Budget Friendly Protein Options

One of top five things I hear about eating healthy is that it is too expensive. I tend to disagree. Once you learn about healthy food and start eliminating less nutrient dense food from your meal plan, healthy options start appearing, many of them are budget friendly. Over the course of the next few posts we will talk about budget friendly options that fit in each of the 21 Day Fix color coded buckets. Today
we will tackle the Red protein filled bucket.

Tuna
Light tuna canned in water is a surprisingly economical and healthy option. But make sure you don’t drown it in mayo!

Cottage Cheese
2% is the best protein option. This goes great with fruit!

Tilapia
Although it isn’t as full of Omega3’s as salmon it can still provide you with those special added fats while being a pretty sensible protein choice. You’re cheapest options will be in the frozen food section.

Yogurt
While 1% plain Greek yogurt is the “better” option, you can spend less and go for the plain 2% variety and still be making a great choice. Make sure to look for single ingredient kinds and avoid any added sweeteners or cornstarch.

Eggs
Eggs get a bad rap, but they are actually extremely healthy and incredibly budget friendly. Scramble them, hard boil them, or even make fancy egg cups! Just two eggs fill the red bucket as one serving, giving you six protein servings for under $2.00!

Bonus:
Okay, this obviously doesn’t work for everyone, but for those families with avid hunters in them, wild game is a fabulous choice!

Want to know more about meal planning and get accountability at the same time? Join our next 30 Day accountability group!

Grilled carne asadas/fajitas

 

Ingredients:

1 flat iron steak (about 3 lbs)

1 red onion sliced

4-5 small sweet peppers (red, orange, and yellow)

3-5 cloves garlic minced

Small bunch of minced cilantro (as desired)

Equal amounts cumin and chili powder (about 1 TBS each)

chipotle powder (optional for kick)

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4-1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (reserve one full lime for after cooking)

1/2 cup stock (I used homemade chicken stock)

Marinate all together for at least 8 hours/overnight

 

Grill the steak as desired (mine is rare-medium rare)

Cook veggies separately in either an iron skillet or broil them in the oven. (if you broil, watch closely!) Squeeze the fresh lime over the veggies and enjoy!

 

5 Simple Steps to Be Healthier this Week

Eat at home more than “out”

Cooking your own food has great advantages. First, you actually KNOW what you put into the dish. You have complete control of the ingredients from beginning to end. There are no hidden calories or unknown sodium content. You can also choose a healthier cooking method! Instead of frying your meat you can grill it. The added vitamin D soak while in the sun is just a bonus!

Plan a menu using whole foods

This fits in with the first step. Choose whole foods, meaning the ones that actually look like a food and hasn’t been processed and packaged in a box. There is always some controversy and discussion about organic verses “traditional” farming. I’m not even getting that far here, just choosing a whole food instead of processed yuck/yum is a step in the right direction.

Ditch the Pop

This video was the catalyst to getting rid of my diet Dr. Pepper habit. It took some time, but I can tell you the advantages of leaving pop behind all add up to feeling and being healthier! Shakeology was what helped me do it. I’ve seen people drop an immense amount of weight just by giving this sugary beverage up.

Move Your Body More

Even if you exercise regularly you can do this simple step. Take the stairs when you have a choice, park further away from the entrance to work or the store, or add an additional day of exercise. If you are a busy parent, play with your kids. Have a spontaneous dance party or play tag and you be “it.” The kids will love it and you’ll increase your heart rate in a fun way!

Eat Breakfast!

Ever wonder why we call our first meal breakfast? It actually means “break” the “fast.” Your body hasn’t eaten in a long time and it’s sleepy. Breaking the fast jump starts your body’s system, introducing vital nutrients and FUEL into your metabolism. It actually tells your body it’s time to get to work. If that isn’t enough to convince you research has consistently shown that people who are successful at losing weight and keeping it off, eat breakfast regularly. Chalene Johnson, in her book PUSH, says “Eighty percent of those who have been able to maintain a weight loss of at least 30 pounds for at least a year report that they always eat breakfast.”

 

 

Core de Force Results

My Total Results: 60 days of Core de Force and the 3 Day Refresh

BeforeAfter
Hips36"34"
Waist34"30.5"
Right Arm11.25"12"
Left Arm11"11.5"

 

The picture above is 30 days. The left side picture was taken after the 3 Day Refresh and is at 125 pounds. The picture on the right side is me 35 days later, but also at 125 pounds! See, the scale doesn’t always tell the whole story.

I would love to help you have your own transformation! Our challenge group will provide recipes, tips, how to set yourself up for meal prep success, accountability, motivation, and daily support. We all do better when we have people cheering us on, let me be your personal cheerleader!

Let’s do this together!

Sign up for the 30 Day Accountability Group

Happy New Year!

 

Thank you for joining us this year! I am beginning to get excited about what this new year will hold for us. 2016 had some really difficult and fabulous times but I am ready to start something new. So, what can you expect this month?

This week I am personally going to complete the 3 Day Refresh since I am feeling the need to get back to the nutritional basics. I will be posting follow up videos to give you a little review of how I feel and what the Refresh does.

Starting January 9th and ending February 5th I will be hosting TWO different support groups so there is something for everybody.

The Beachbody Health Bet has three qualifications to make you eligible to win your share of a $2 Million prize pot.

  1. Participate in a Challenge Group through the Challenge Tracker App
  2. Drink and log (with added photo) a minimum of 5 Shakeology meals per each qualification week
  3. Complete and log a minimum of 3 workouts per each qualification week (does NOT have to be a Beachbody program to qualify).

New Year=New Habits also has three guidelines to follow and they are…

  1. Participate in a Challenge Group through the Challenge Tracker App
  2. Complete and log a minimum of 3 workouts per week
  3. Post your daily food log with a minimum of 3 meal photos per week

You can sign up for your choice of group! Hurry because the deadline is January 5th!

The Becoming IntentionallyFit weekly newsletter will be doing a 10 week series called The Habits of the IntentionallyFit. Subscribe today, by scrolling to the bottom of this page, because the first in the series comes out Monday January 9th, 2017.

I would love to hear from you and learn what kind of things would be helpful for you on your health and fitness journey this year. Message me and let me know what kind of posts you would like to see!

Core de Force Meal Plan review

 

I am truly loving this program! It is challenging, but I feel so confident after finishing the workout for the day! I’ll start posting reviews for each workout soon. Thanks for joining us!