It's my VEGANVERSARY!!!!

Woo hoo, CELEBRATION!!!!!!  I have eaten on a plan for THREE YEARS!!!!!



HAPPY VEGANVERSARY TO ME!!!!

So when I started this eating thing 3 years ago, if you told me I would stay plant based - I would have called you a liar.

The background is for TWENTY YEARS I had failed at EVERY diet I ever tried.  Lost and regained the same weight over and over - never sticking to anything - lived at the mercy of craving things I knew I shouldn't have, but seemed powerless to resist.

Then things got serious, I had liver issues with the ultimate catch 22.  To fix a liver surrounded by so much fat it is no longer able to work properly, one has to lose weight.  The catch - it is extra hard for a person with a fatty liver to lost weight....cue face-palm.....


I was 39.

So for a couple of years I made small head way making positive changes.  I switched to the awesome all natural whole food based Shake for breakfast - lost 10lbs in 5 weeks.... but was still around 200lbs.  My liver levels dropped a little, I wasn't in imminent danger of liver failure, but still needed to have normal liver range.

Cue me trying a 3 week plan to gently go plant based and eat nice simple whole foods to give my body a rest from all the processed chemical laden junk that we are led to believe is "normal food".  My plan was on day 22 to reinstate eggs, chicken and turkey, to stay dairy and sugar free, and to eat all whole foods.

By day 6 I noticed feeling better, by day 12 I had more energy in years, by day 21 I was 14lbs lighter, my liver levels were normal, my cholesterol dropped 56 points ( it wasn't high to start with) and I knew there was no going back.

Despite knowing I felt better I didn't know how well it would go.  I had NEVER stuck to ANYTHING in my LIFE for a long term commitment.  Yes I was and am still temped at times.  But it is VERY easy to just remind myself WHY I eat the way i do and walk away now.  I never had that before.  I have had small amounts of dairy, a little piece of egg ( veggie fried rice has it, I ask for no egg, sometimes they forget, I pick out the big pieces, but obviously I consume a little - and I am not going to sweat that). But over all I am and have been 98% plant based for THREE YEARS!!!!!

I have never stuck to ANYTHING health related for this long ever!!!  Here is the difference, and my main point here to ENCOURAGE anyone who is in the trenches with battling to eat healthy food....

FIND SOMETHING YOU LIKE - a way that is healthy you think, "I might be able to live like that".  You HAVE to think long term.  If you know you cant ( or shouldn't) eat a certain way for the rest of your life DON'T START IT!

HAVE A GOAL UNRELATED TO WEIGHT!!   - mine is to keep my liver - a rather useful organ .


DONT STOP TRYING!!!!  If you try plant based and it doesn't work for you, try something else.  If that doesn't work try something else - there are MANY paths to health, you just have to LIKE the one you are on.  It took me 20 years to find something I LIKED and that I could live with.  I know to a lot of you how I eat seems extreme, but for me and the way my mind works, I live by one rule...it is either sugar free ( no chemical sugars either) and plant based ( aka vegan) or not.  That is it.  There is no humming and hering and battles of will with myself.  If it fits the rule I can eat it, if it doesn't oh well, game over, end of discussion - I dont WANT it.  ( That part is awesome, to not WANT to eat the high taste, unhealthy food)

I know it is hard to get the eating part of health under control...I remember it so well.  It is SOOOO worth finding something you can live with, because it is like going from seeing in black and white to color.   It is the ultimate freedom to not be driven and ruled by cravings and eating things you know are killing you.

If I can do this - YOU CAN!!!

If you are reading this and need help - message me!  Click the link and then the CONTACT US button.   https://www.facebook.com/sharethehealthfitness

If you are reading this and want to know about going plant based - I have a free guide - see above to contact me.

If you are reading this and need someone to root for you and cheer you on - MESSAGE ME!!!!

My immediate advice for a VERY reasonable plan is to go check out 100 Days of Real Food.  Google it.  AMAZING recipes, all whole food ( including meat and dairy).  Get away from the packaged and boxed junk in the grocery store and start living off the foods our bodies were designed to consume.  You will notice a difference in your energy, your health, your weight, your skin, your hair - EVERYTHING.

DONT EVER GIVE UP!!!!!!

Debi

Making it easy....

Ok deceptive title...in the post food-a-holic world there is no easy.  You will always fight a little against the urges that put you in a spot where you HAD to do something or die from your food relationship.  How about making it EASIER!!

Case and point, although I have a solid eating plan, and healthy lifestyle I LOVE I still have to remind myself from time to time,

"NO, you don't eat candy anymore" or "No, if you eat that, you wont be able to stop and you will binge for weeks".

I may have a healthy life style, but I will always have the occasional thought you have to shut down.  BUT that is THE tool that was missing before, so instead of feeling like the "fight" will never end, I choose to think of it as reminders that I now have TOOLS to use, that work well for me.  So even though some days I eat less healthily than I should, I don't ever have to go to bed feeling lost and overwhelmed about making bad decisions, because I know in the morning I just use what I know NOW.

One of my fave go to tools if "winging it" is leaving me feeling sluggish or weak, is this groovy little plan with the awesome food containers.  It is a portion control way of eating that keeps you well nourished, REALLY full - it is SO much food, and takes the guess work out of calorie counting and exercise and food macros (WHAT?!?!?) yes, it is a thing.

Basically you have 6 containers, color coded for veggies, fruit, meat, carbs (which can also be used for dessert or WINE!) fats, and dairy.  Plus an addition 4 tsp for anything from peanut-butter to jelly, or sugar.  Depending on where you start, you get a certain number of eat container a day, and when you are finished you are really full and nourished, and it is AWESOME for me.

On the more advance road to health, just eating a good range of healthy foods isnt always enough, your body looks and works better if you dont over eat protein, or carbs or fat (macros) - this fab little system makes it easy for beginner AND those further along.

Sooo I was a little too carb heavy for the past 3 weeks, so started back using the container system on Monday and I am feeling much better.  This was my dinner tonight...

http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/vegan-chicken-noodle-soup/

I know, most of you are meat eaters, so throw in a roasted chicken breast and use chicken broth.  Personally I added more veggies.  Either way it was FAST, IT was EASY, and it was an, all natural, healthy dinner.

FIND SOMETHING YOU LIKE - A way of EATING you LIKE.  A way to be ACTIVE that you LIKE.  Then YOU have tools :)

As always if anyone has any questions or needs any help, feel free to comment below, or send me a message on FB.  
www.facebook.com/sharethehealthfitness

I am always happy to help.

Reality, an exercise in awareness and gratitude :)

This is a REALLY important post.

Soooo I know people want to look a certain way.  Slender, toned, perhaps a little muscular.  Perhaps like you looked at a certain point in your youth?  Perhaps better?

Here is something you need to know.  It is NOT worth giving up and being negative about your journey, because you have been at it for X amount of time, and you are not there.

The reality is, NOT everyone can look like this ...


...there are SOOO many factors at work in getting to a super slender, lean, look.  I know this isn't everyone's ideal, but it is what some of you wish for, I know - I kind of do!!

Here is the reality her age, her muscle structure, her lifestyle, her dedication to exercising hard enough to get there, while eating a PERFECT meal plan, all the time, AND the fact she doesn't look like this ALL THE TIME!!!  They all play in to being super lean and toned.

People who are in fitness photo shoots, competitions etc, they have an every day look, and then a photo shoot or competition look.  To get THIS lean, they take from 8 - 16 WEEKS and follow what is called a "cutting" plan, where they reduce the intake of carbs and cut their calories back a little, while increasing cardio workouts AND maintaining muscle building workouts to look like this.

Yes there are a few "genetically blessed" people who don't have to do quite as much work, but for the most part we are talking at LEAST 2 hours of cardio and weight training ( maximum effort) 6 days a week, and ZERO off plan meals, snacks, or treats of ANY kind for 8 - 16 weeks to have this look.  The rest of the time they indulge a little, and while they are still fit and slender, they are NOT walking around looking like a sculpture for an anatomy lesson.

Here is my point...your body is doing the BEST it can, with the conditions you are giving it.  Instead of being down on yourself for not getting to where you want to be have a multi focus approach.   Focus on how far you have come.  Focus on what you CAN DO now, that you couldn't before, keep how you look on the back burner.

Here is my belly, at 46, after 2 kids, working out about 12 hours a week, a mix of disciplines...4 hours of gymnastic, 4 hours of karate, 2 hours of Ariel Silks, 2- 6 hours of training clients (so slight effort on my behalf) and in the summer I add in 4 hours of SUP ( stand Up Paddle boarding).  I do EVERYTHING I do, because I LOVE to do it, and it keeps me healthy...I also eat a pretty strict plan of whole foods, 99% plant based.  I haven't eaten any refined sugar in almost THREE YEARS....you would THINK that I would look like the picture above for all that effort, but here is a picture I just took 5 minutes ago.....

 

I am DELIGHTED with what is it, but it is NOT the lean toned look that so many of us are striving for.  DON'T MISTAKE this post for dis-satisfaction.  It is FAR from that....

I started here at age 41... over weight, with no energy, and not being able to do ANYTHING.... in early stage 1 liver distress.

...and now I am strong, fit, and can do ANYTHING I want.   This post is about NOT giving up, just because you don't THINK you look good enough, or toned enough, or aren't strong enough, or fast enough, or anything negative you can say.  

We are too negative with ourselves, on many levels, but ESPECIALLY regarding our looks and where we want to be.

Yes, I certainly hoped by this level of fitness, I had a little less padding at the tops of my arms, and around my lower belly, but fitness is a JOURNEY, not a destination.  My body has come SOOOO far in the past 5 years, it is AMAZING what it has done.  And the big thing I want to get across to you all today is HEALTHY comes in all shapes and sizes.  Here is the definition of healthy...

1. Blood pressure of 120/80 or lower

2. Cholesterol under 200 ( closer to 150 is better)

3. A resting heart rate in the 70's or lower

4. Having a waist size ( when you suck it in) of 34 inches or less ( your risk for heat disease decreases at 34 inches or less).

5. Being STRONG enough to move your body with effort, for an hour a day.

6. Being FIT enough that #5 doesn't exhaust you.

7. Being HEALTHY enough to maintain these things at an appropriate level for your age, for as many years as you can.

NOTE THERE IS NOT A NUMBER FOR SCALES IN THE EQUATION OF HEALTHY.  Your goals should include, but not be limited to those 7 things.  If you have all 7 of those, it DOESN'T MATTER what the scales say.  IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU STILL HAVE A LITTLE LOSE SKIN OR A ROLL HERE AND THERE!!!! 

BEING HEALTHY IS ENOUGH, regardless of what your body looks like.  DON'T sabotage your morale and efforts by being negative about your progress or continued effort.  I cant say it enough...BEING HEALTHY IS ENOUGH!!!!

I am 46

I have 2 kids

My blood pressure is 107/72

My Cholesterol is 103

My liver levels USED to be 98 and 92 ( early liver failure) they are now 18 and 20

My waist is 32 - 33 inches

I wear a size 10

I HAVE ROLLS WHEN I BEND IN THE MIDDLE!!!!

MY ARMS ARE SQUISHY AT THE TOP - even though I can do gymnastics and Aerial Silks.

I WEIGH between 175 and 180lbs!!

I am not the most toned, iron bodied,  trainer you will ever meet.  But I AM one of the most encouraging :)  And I am ENCOURAGING YOU to take where you are, and to focus on getting HEALTHIER and to keep that focus as your goal.  NOT some size, NOT some weight.  HEALTH!!!!  

 I AM HEALTHY AND I AM ENOUGH...EXACTLY LIKE THIS!!!

Let me hear you all say it!!!  IF I AM HEALTHY, I AM ENOUGH!!!!!

Type it in the comments below!!

Top Tips for staying on track while on vacation.....

Sooooo you are on vacation.  I know, I know, you want to kick back, not worry about anything and eat with reckless abandon.  After all it is a VACATION right?

Here is why you shouldn't....Yes it takes 21 days to make a good habit, but you can derail that habit in 48 hours.  Sad but true.

1. Set some boundaries.  Yes have fun but DONT do anything that will make it hard for you to get back in healthy habits once you are home and regretting those 7lbs.  Decide ahead of time what you will allow and wont allow. My big tip here is just DONT do anything that has been known to cause to you binge.  For me this is sugar.  I dont eat it.  Not ever, not even on vacation.  The price I pay for it is TOOOO high.  ( Literally weeks and months of being off the wagon, so I abstain all the time).  For me, I eat bread rolls as a treat.  I know, life on the edge eh?!  It is a simple treat I dont allow myself daily.  When on vacation, I have crusty fresh bread.

2. Take the stairs.  As much as possible.  I will be on a cruise ship, sometimes I have to go up 10 decks, which would be 20 flights of stairs.  If I have time I will, but not always.  I dont EVER take an elevator to go down.  I always walk down the stairs.  The tip here is walk as much as you can.  Find as much fun physical stuff to do, and walk as much as you can :)

3. Remember EVERYTHING counts.  EVERYTHING adds up, good and bad, and no amount of relaxing and binge eating is worth the extra effort you will have to expend to fix things when you get home :)  This is easier when you have an over all mind set of food as fuel, not pleasure.  It used to be I couldn't fathom HOW people could get there mentally, but as I am not in that spot, I can tell you the FASTEST way there is to have solid goals that are TOTALLY unrelated to size and weight.  For example, I avoid sugar because I am an addict.  I avoid dairy because my joints hurt more when I eat it, I keep my nutrition quality high because I feel AMAZING and I love being able to do thing many 46 year old women cant do.  When I look at this 4 times a day on a cruise ship

THE thing that stops me from going in face first is focusing on how I love feeling amazing and healthy and strong and eating this will take that away.

Sooooo there you have it.  3 simple things you can do to minimize vacation damage.  :)

For more help getting fit, stop on by my FB page and message me if I can help you on your fitness journey.

https://www.facebook.com/fighththefluff

Progress....

So lets talk about progress this morning. You can never ever compare yourself to someone else. Even the tiniest thing is progress. This lesson has come back around a couple of time in the past weeks, for me. 

So I started learning Aerial Silks in September, with my 11 yr old. We were neck and neck for the first month and after that she took off and left me in the dust. One of the classes we took there was a girl closer to my age who had been going for a month. I don't get to work out with her as often, but when I did last week, she could totally scorch me on climbing ( which let me tell you is NO JOKE - I come down off those things breathing so hard you may think my lungs may fly out!!) BUT I can flip upside down as easily as blinking, and she cant....YET!! Different people, different areas of strength, different progress, BUT STILL PROGRESS!!!!!

We ALL progress at different rates, don't EVER be discouraged at what you do or don't see on the scales, on the tape measure, or you perceived progress. The truth is, the LITTLEST THINGS mean HUGE changes inside. 

Last night my gymnastics class was working on kicking to handstands on mini parallel bars. Even though 30 yrs ago I was a gymnast, 6 weeks ago, I could only kick up with a booster block AND a little leg push from a spotter. Last night, I only need the booster block!!!!! It is a SMALL step, but I CAN SEE PROGRESS!!! Even though I hadn't trained on that move in 6 weeks, my over all physical activity has increased my strength and kicking and I sailed up as easily as blinking....soooo here is what you can take from this....

1. Building strength, stamina, endurance, a stronger heart, a lower BP, etc...ALL HAPPENS as long as you KEEP GOING. While there are some things you have to train specifically for to get good at NEVER underestimate the power of just keeping on training and doing what you love smile emoticon CHANGES ARE HAPPENING STRENGTH IS BEING HARNESSED smile emoticon

2. The little things ADD UP!!! I don't hashtag EVERYTHING COUNTS for nothing, because it does EVERYTHING good and bad adds up. Start putting little marks on your GOOD side smile emoticon

3. Even if you don't think you see progress, or you think your progress is too small to mention, know that thinking is INACCURATE! You cant learn to run without walking, you cant learn to walk without standing, you cant learn to stand without MONTHS of falling, wobbling, leaning, being lead, cruising furniture. So JUST KEEP GOING!!! KEEEEP GOING!!! KEEEEEEEEP GOING!!!!!!!

4. You have nothing but time. Sure we would all like to push an easy button and wake up tomorrow an ideal size weight and fitness level. Sadly that doesn't happen....but the good news is, you don't have to be at X level by next Friday lunchtime! This is your world, YOUR STORY.... you write it!!!!

My daughter will pass her level one skills test in Aerial Silks in the next month or so, and in truth , it will probably take me until well into the summer or fall before I am ready. But it doesn't matter, I am having fun and INCHING (literally) forward and every time I do a move and fail I am getting a tiny bit stronger, a tiny bit fitter, a tiny bit closer.

The time IS GOING TO PASS, spend it making teeny steps of progress - it IS worth it and it ALL adds up 

The way you feel WILL change...and that is good.

Encouragement...

Ok so this whole food thing I encourage you to do every Wednesday.  I know getting your food consistently good is hard. For me it was the last piece of the puzzle to fall in to place. I had been exercising for 3 years with health gains and losing inches, but my weight really hadnt changed more than about 10lbs.  It wasnt until I mastered food that I got to a healthy weight for me.

Here is the encouragement, WHEN YOU REALLY master it, it will no longer be hard all the time.  I loved junk food and chocolate and everything you love as much, maybe even MORE than you and I was 50lbs over weight.

So how do you do it?

The first thing you have to do is get your head around it.  You HAVE ( cant emphasize enough how this is the BIGGEST thing) to have a reason for doing what you do ( eating and moving) that is NOT related to your size or weight.  I know I hear you

"So why else would I do that?  I dont want to give up a thing, but I dont like how I look -  that is the ONLY reason i exercise and try".

I know I used to think that way.  The fact is you HAVE to realize the deeper impact food has you your body, length and quality of life.  You have to be motivated to SAVE your life.  This isnt just the chronically obese, this is EVERYONE.  If you dont take care of your body with food and exercise by the time you are 50 ( assuming you live that long...I kid you not) your body will be so broken and run down you cant do anything you want.

That sort of thing happens to someone else right?  Think of how many people you drove or rode past in the past 24 hours.  To them YOU ARE SOMEONE ELSE.

I am not sure how old you are, but I was 35 when I started having health issues, knee pain, joint issues, low energy.  By 40 I had a weird pain in my side from time to time and re-flux, and I found out my liver was failing.  I was lucky almost no one gets pain from it - it is a silent killer.

I was pretty active until I was about 30.  I was a good weight until I was about 33 - maybe 10 -15lbs over weight.  My health went into the trash in about 8 years.  I was lucky, my youth carried me through with a good metabolism until then.   But as soon as that changed, my health deteriorated in 8 years.  EIGHT YEARS!

FIND a reason NOT linked to your size and weight to motivate you to start.  Your health, longer life with your kids, to see Grandkids, to do your bucket list....you ONLY get one body, you ONLY go around ONCE.  Dont you want to see and do as much as you possibly can in that one ride?

From there, you find a way to eat that you LIKE.  You dont have to love it, you just have to think,
"ok. I could do this except for special occasions".

DONT EVER START AN EATING PROGRAM YOU CANT LIVE ON FOREVER.

From there, you live it.  You remember that you want to LIVE BETTER more than you want that 2 second taste.

Here is more encouragement - commit to it for a year.  REALLY commit.  I promise you by the time the year is up you wont see food the way you do now.  You WONT think "oh I couldn't never go without X food"  You WONT feel like you do now about stopping eating certain things you now basically use as a drug.

The biggest thing I want you to take away from this is....EVERYTHING you think you cant live without and cant give up - YOU CAN and given time you WONT CARE.  How you see food and how you eat will change.  It isnt a life time of feeling sad about not eating X food every week.  THAT is why people dont like changing what they eat - and I get it, I was there it was why I didnt get the eating thing down til I was 43.  But if I can YOU CAN.  You ONLY feel that way when you start.  I fyou have a LONG RANGE GOAL and you see the bigger picture, the foods you choose to avoid wont bother you in a few weeks.

:) Start, keep going, NEVER GIVE UP!!  :)

Eating well all the time is hard...

I dont think anyone will disagree with me on this.  I think for some people it is harder than others.

I recently hit 900 days of healthy eating.  When I started I knew I had to change permanently; I hoped for success, I had a different plan than the last 73 tries at losing weigh, and I had a different mental view going.  I think the different mindset has been a key factor in making the change long lasting.

So what did I do?  I found a plan that made sense to me, that I WANTED to live by for reasons OTHER than weight loss.  Then I found a way to get my head around it, so it was something I WANTED to do, rather than had to do to be thin.

What do I do?  I am primarily vegan, but not fanatically. As in there have been rare occasions where I have had egg that was in something, broth that might not have been veggie, and I have had about 4 slices of regular pizza in that time because nothing was available, or some well meaning person "made" food for me and I didnt want to be rude. In general I will avoid meat and dairy all the time, just not to the exclusion of all reason and courtesy  I cant do it for more than a meal here or there, because it really impacts how I feel physically and how well my body performs over all. I put some pretty hard demands on my almost 46 yr old body, and I really want to be able to do all these things I love - so I dont like to eat off my plan for more than a meal here or there.

I have been 100% true to my zero sugar consumption. No candy, desserts, or chocolate that contain refined sugar, fake sugar, artificial sugar. I have had 4 muffins made with honey. 900 days. I am really proud of that one. I dont miss it, I do remember it fondly. I know I can never go back. Does this make me sad? Not often, and not for long - it just isnt my reality to be able to have a little. I am an addict. My choice is, eat sugar and die young, fat, diabetic, with low quality of life, or to avoid it and gain more quality of life than I ever imagined possible. I choose the second, every time, and move on quickly because what I have FAR outweighs the moments of taste I am not having. 

Anyway, I am hoping someone reading this out there who needs a boost or a kick will read this and be inspired, or helped, or spurred on. It is not an easy path, but just know as you sit there and think "oh I could NEVER give up............." it is no where NEAR as hard as you imagine.

You take one day at a time, one meal at a time and "TIME" will take care of itself. I have done this now for 900 days and I am living proof you CAN overcome food addiction and binges, and being controlled by cravings.

This is what works for me, there are MANY paths to health and fitness, this is just the one my body loves.  Yours could look different, have a look out there and see what there is you could LIVE ON FOREVER.

I know I hear you - some of you are thinking,

 "well that is nice but HOW, I need specifics on HOW to get in the right place mentally".

Message me, I am happy to help.  I can help you make a meal plan, I am happy to share what I learned.

Also, simple strategies to cope with foods you love that trip you up.

Here is one that works for lots of people...

The PUSH IT OUT PLAN..

...
If you are struggling with certain foods, tell yourself, yes i can have than ice 

cream or chips or cake, AFTER i have had some carrots or an apple Some 

piece of fruit or raw veggie you LIKE. You still get your junk food, but you wont

 eat as much, as you will be more full. it is win win.

Hopefully, some of this is helpful to you!

You are welcome to message me.  You can find me on FB click here and I will be happy to help you out.