fitness. motherhood. life & style.

Beating the Holiday Lbs!

Most of the time the holidays become an excuse for weight gain and overeating. However, this leads to guilt for all of us come New Years Eve when we're trying to squeeze into that LBD. The holidays don't have to be that way! I follow a few tips in order to still stay on track during the holidays but also enjoy them :)
  1. If you don't want it, don't eat it. A lot of times we find ourselves just eating what ever is offered at Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. but I would rather use my calories on something I really want to eat. Enjoy the things you have been craving instead!
  2. Get back on track ASAP. I took the day off on Thanksgiving, enjoyed myself without over doing it and was right back in the gym the next morning. I still enjoyed left overs the next day but in moderation. Always make sure you do something you enjoy when working out too!
  3. Put the extra calories to good use. I always like to work out fasted the day after a holiday meal because I feel like it helps me to burn fat. I'll have a tsp of coconut oil before I workout so that I can burn through that for energy. I also like to have a heavy leg day (or any hard hitting workout) when I consume extra calories because you'll burn more calories and can work on those gains.
  4. Use the sauna to help ward off water weight. A lot of times post meal weight gain is water weight. Using the sauna even for just 10 minutes helps me to sweat off some water weight, bloating, and toxins.
  5. Get back to your regular meals. Enjoy the holidays but still be conscious of what you're eating. Don't have holiday meals and treats everyday just because it's the holidays.
  6. ENJOY YOURSELF. This is the first year in a long time that holiday foods haven't given me major anxiety. It's because I'm concerning myself more with family and friends than avoiding food. The holidays are about spending time with the ones you love, so enjoy them. Don't stress over gatherings and holiday treats and drinks. Because I give myself the option to enjoy the holidays, I don't feel the need to stress over them. I'm happy, healthy, enjoying things in moderation, and staying on track :)
Happy late Thanksgiving to all my readers!!

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Quick and Easy Lunches

Lately, I barely have time to make dinner so a fully meal prepped lunch isn't happening. However, I still prefer to pack a healthy lunch so I've been coming up with some quick lunch ideas. Today I had green chile salsa chicken tacos!
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Heat up two corn tortillas for about 10 seconds, heat up some pre-made southwest style chicken for about 30 seconds, add lettuce, guacamole (I like the 100 calorie cups if you can't make it fresh), and green chile salsa! Quick, easy, and flavorful!
I also like to make easy sandwiches with gluten free bread, avocado instead of cheese or spread, tomatoes, lettuce, and natural (be careful of the crap that is put in deli meat) sliced turkey.
I've also been enjoying a small cup of tomato or squash soup with a grilled chicken side salad and oil and vinegar instead of dressing. You can also add a little bit of fruit, nuts, or avocado to your salad and the soup serves as your carb.
It's good to have a fully balanced lunch (veggies, carb, healthy fat, and protein) to get you through your day. Being short on time doesn't mean letting your meals go to crap and you also don't have to spend a crazy amount of time meal prepping :) Enjoy!
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If you related to my first post...

...then I have a good article for you. A long time friend of mine recently sent me this article and it is something I HAVE to share. You can check it out here.
Orthorexia was one of the first terms I heard that made me finally understand what type of struggles I was going through. Seeing that someone had put a name and an understanding to how I was feeling meant that I wasn't alone in this struggle. It all relates back to the media, social media, and the false idea that all healthy/beautiful women look that way because they eat "clean" 100% of the time and workout all the time.
Like I said before, on my path to health and weight loss I somehow became obsessed with it. I noted in my first post that I was only eating what I saw on social media listed as "clean" foods. I had no idea how to start a strict healthy lifestyle so I turned to fitness accounts online. This just led me down a bad path because most of those fitness accounts are NOT reality.
When I was at my lowest point I decided to unfollow a lot of fitness accounts to try and not have my life so centered around fitness and health. When I finally saw the term Orthorexia and I saw REAL women going through it I started to feel better and that's when I reached out to a few people for help. Ladyfit (Instagram name) was one of the first women that I reached out to because I saw that she had faced some type of similar struggle. She had some wonderful advice for me and that was the first time I started to feel a weight lifted off my shoulders. Finding someone you can relate to can help in a big way.
Fast forward to present day and I'm extremely busy! -Hence the lack of posts recently, sorry :) I have a new position at work, I'm working on my Master's degree, and somehow keeping a social and family life. Since my life has become so busy in the last few weeks I have missed a few days at the gym and I haven't meal prepped as much as I usually do but what's nice about that is I'm not worried about it! If this had all happened a year ago I would have beat myself up over missing a day at the gym or having to eat food that I didn't prepare. Now, those harsh thoughts don't even cross my mind. I know when things slow down I'll be right back to my normal schedule.
I hope that if you're reading this article and you can relate to it, it brings you peace. I know that understanding Orthorexia was my first step to get to where I am now. Knowing you're not alone is a powerful force and I hope this article helps you!
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