Learn To Read The Ingredients

 You are going to hear me say this again and again! Read The Ingredients, not just the nutrition facts but the INGREDIENTS!

The ingredients are the most important thing you need to know about your food, not the nutritional information. There was a big push about 10 years ago to read the nutritional information, which is great! But what is more important is reading the ingredients. You might be surprised what is actually contained in your foods. Tomorrow we will look at the alternative names for artificial ingredients, additives and preservatives for a few of them commonly found in most foods. Big companies spend MILLION of dollars to advertise their products to you, and there is a lot of false advertising going on! Skip to the labels, calories and nutrition facts and go straight there. None of that matters if you are putting harmful materials into your body.

My 4 Tips: 

1) If you don’t recognize it or can’t pronounce it, don’t eat it!

2) Try to stick to food that is in its whole state (ex. fruit/vegetables) or food that has just a few ingredients. Make sure they are ingredients you recognize.

Avoid anything that is labeled low-fat, fat-free, or diet!

3) When the fat is taken out of food it becomes “bland” so most fat free, low fat or reduced fat foods are filled with processed fillers, chemicals, or artificial flavors to replace it. These can be harmful to the body.

4) Take the time to read the ingredients. The more you do it the more familiar you will get with it and it will become easier. Boxed foods are the biggest culprit so make sure to look closely and carefully!

Want more daily motivation and inspiration? Click here get free advice, support and encouragement + a free copy of my Clean Eating guide to help you get started on your health and fitness journey! 

Bump Update: 24 Weeks

Hello to entering my 6th month of pregnancy! YAY! Things are coming along nicely. Elyse is kicking me like crazy all the time. I am even getting woken up at night from her. She is just getting bigger and bigger and so am I! I have really noticed this week that I can't bend over anymore when cleaning up toys. I am encouraging the boys to be on toy pick up more so that they understand I need their help. They do okay at it. But they are only 4 and 2! 

We celebrated Memorial Day this past weekend. Matt grilled for us, which was amazing as usual, and I made a nice dessert however, I just can't handle sweets like I used to be able to. That is a good thing. That means that I am not over eating too much crap which I think is why my weight has been so good. I am still gaining a pound a week. This morning was hard to look at the scale because I am just a few ounces shy of 250 and that is a big number! I don't like that number. But I am really trying to trust the process, trust my body, and be diligent in what I put in my body to help me have as healthy of a pregnancy as possible considering the weight I am at. 

Total Weight Gain:  12 pounds total weighing in at 249.8 pounds. Oh man, my mind went crazy over seeing this number. I am getting so close to the weight I was a year ago after my miscarriage, and before I started taking care of me again. It freaks me out, but I am trusting my body and the process. And I have the tools now to get back to where I want to be after Elyse arrives! 

Symptoms: Just the regularly occurring headache, some morning sickness. Thankfully not as many cravings for carbs this past week.

Baby’s Size: Ear of corn (~8.5 inches, 1.5 pounds)

Maternity Clothes: Yes, bottoms need to wear maternity or stretchy pants. Tops I wear maternity now and my bigger t-shirts.

Stretch Marks: I already have a ton that I got when I gained weight years ago. So nothing new.

Gender: GIRL!!! 

Sleep: I am only waking up once a night to go to the bathroom. I am flipping over from one side to the other a lot, but often times I end up on my back. She is starting to kick me awake at night now.

Miss Anything: Sleeping comfortably flat on my belly or back! Sleeping through the night. 

Cravings: Just been in a funk and haven't wanted to make dinner or decent meals for the fam. I have just been more tired this week, or lazy. I haven't really been craving anything this week, except maybe my Shakeology. I have been consistently drinking that every morning. It is my easy, no thought process meal that tastes great and is great for me! 

Aversions: nothing yet

Excited About: Matt and the boys feeling her kick for the first time. I think it will happen this week as she is going to town kicking me lately. Especially when my student play her namesake song, Fur Elise.

Workouts: Got in my workouts 5 days a this past week, which is awesome! I have been going on walks, doing 21 Day Fix yoga & pilates specifically, Diary Of A Fit Mommy's Fit For Two 2nd Trimester workouts and the Beachbody On Demand Active Maternity 2nd Trimester workouts. I really did well this week with the workout dept! 

Want more daily motivation and inspiration? Click here get free advice, support and encouragement + a free copy of my Clean Eating guide to help you get started on your health and fitness journey!

Age Appropriate Chore Chart For Kids

I am always struggling to find the right chores for my kiddos! Check out this awesome chart to help you get an idea of what might be good for your kids! 

The chart comes from Maria Montessori who opened her first classroom in 1907.  It was based on the idea that kids learn from doing more than sitting and listening to a teacher.  

This concept extends beyond the classroom and can also be applied to things in life.As part of this education philosophy, this chart was created to outline what kids should be doing to help around the house based upon their age.

I view this chart as simply suggestions. All kids are different and that needs to be taken into account as coming up with specific chores for your own child.

Want more daily motivation and inspiration? Click here get free advice, support and encouragement + a free copy of my Clean Eating guide to help you get started on your health and fitness journey! 

Declutter The House: Round 1

(furnace room)

Last week I shared that we were going to start decluttering our house before Baby Elyse joins us. You can read about it HERE! And well, this past weekend was ROUND 1! And boy did we do great! Not only did we clean out one room, but our second storage room (furnace room)! And the second room, I wasn't even planning on doing, we like REALLY CLEANED IT OUT! There is almost nothing in there now which is great!

And in the main storage room (yes we have 2) a good portion of it is strictly baby stuff that will be pulled out and put throughout the house just before Elyse arrives! I think we did pretty well.

On top of cleaning it out, we donated a ton of Mason's old toys, with his permission and help, that he no longer plays with because he has so many,  plus many other items were donated as well. It took 2 trips in our van to get all the stuff to Goodwill. Which is GREAT! I am so pleased with our progress and honestly feel like a little weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Now...to continue and do other projects I have for myself...What to do next? Painting?

You can compare this first image of our main storage room to the lower 2 to see how much we actually did do! 

Want more daily motivation and inspiration? Click here get free advice, support and encouragement + a free copy of my Clean Eating guide to help you get started on your health and fitness journey! 

FIXATE Turkey Sloppy Joes

My nutrition has been not good lately. I have been craving all things carbs. And sadly I have started giving in. I have noticed two things from it. 1) My body doesn't like carbs and reacts negativity to them. I am bloated and just feel sluggish. And my body just doesn't digest them too well. 2) The more I eat of them the MORE I WANT THEM! It is not good. So it is time to cut back and get back to what I know I should be doing, and DO IT! NO EXCUSES!

I am already planning and prepping for next weeks meals. I need to get back on track and switch up the same old, same old meals with some different ones. I went digging in my cupboards and pulled out FIXATE! I love this book, and I can't believe it has been up in my shelves for so long. Everything tastes amazing and it is so easy to follow! This coming week I am making these Turkey Sloppy Joes. I think of this more sweet and savory because of the maple syrup. It just makes it so good! Check out the recipe, give it a try! And hey, if you want 100 other yummy, easy recipes, you can ORDER YOUR VERY OWN COPY TOO!

COOL THING: There are so many ways you can eat them! Check out the serving suggestions below!

Serving Suggestions: 
1) Serve open-faced on one slice of low-sodium whole-grain sprouted bread.
containers: 3.5 greens, 1 yellow, 1 red, 1 tsp
2) Serve over 1 cup Zoodles.
containers: 5 greens 1 red, 1/2 purple, 1 tsp
3) Serve over 1 cup cooked whole wheat pasta or quinoa
containers: 3.5 greens, 2 yellow, 1 red, 1 tsp
4) Serve in 2 large romain lettuce leaves
containers: 4 greens, 1 red, 1 tsp
5) Serve on 2 corn tortillas
containers: 3.5 greens, 1 red, 1 yellow, 1 tsp

Want more daily motivation and inspiration? Click here get free advice, support and encouragement + a free copy of my Clean Eating guide to help you get started on your health and fitness journey!