Healthy Habits Challenge: January Weight Loss, Part 4

I mentioned last week about how important nutrition is to losing weight. It's such an important factor that when I started my weight loss journey I was working out at the gym a lot and kicking it into high gear, but I was seeing little results. From the moment I started watching what I was eating, I saw results within the first week or two. It was so motivating and amazing! It takes a lot of hard work (and a little craziness watching everything you put into your system), but it pays off! 

 

Portion Control

It's important to use the correct portions so you can hit the percentages of carbs, proteins and fats that you set. (If you still need to set those, more on that here from our post last week). Here is a great graphic that I found from One Medical Group that illustrates what our plates should look like for meals.

I realize this graphic is missing dairy and fruits, but I think a visual representation of what our plate should look like for meals helps. And frankly, I eat my dairy and fruits for snacks it seems so I hope it helps you as much as me. Here is also another guideline (because our plates are all different sizes): Grains/Carbs: 1-3 ounces, Protein: 4-6 ounces and Veggies: unlimited.

To help you picture serving sizes, here's a couple helpful graphics. That way, you don't have to break out the measuring cup every time you want to eat something. (Images via TopsyTasty)

Meal Plans

I cannot tell you how much planning it takes to eat healthy! It's kind of insane! But I do know when I plan, I'm much better at curbing my cravings and eating what I should. I thought I would provide you a couple of my meal plans that I like. Of course, I try to switch it up, but these are some of my tried and true meal plans or daily plans..?? Whatever you want to call them, I hope they're helpful. Also, these are all examples of what I eat on a day of working out. My budget for calories is 1590 per day, and you'll realize the calories listed below are higher than that. That's because of the additional calories I'm "buying" from my workout. So in meal plan #1, it's a lighter workout day where I may only be doing a 20 minute HIIT with some random strength exercises. Or if it's a heavier day, I'll likely add another snack or two. If you're curious about some of the meals, I've put links to them below the graphics.

 

Breakfast: Baked Berry Oatmeal | Lunch: Berry Chia Shake | Dinner: Cilantro Lime Turkey Burger; Sweet Potato Chips | Snacks: Quest Bar (homemade)

  

Dinner: Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce | Snacks: Berry Chia Shake

Breakfast: Healthy Breakfast Burrito; Lunch: Low-Calorie Orzo Chicken Soup; Dinner: Baked Salmon; Calbacitas Con Elote; Snacks: Chocolate Strawberry Protein Smoothie; Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Homemade Larabar

I met with a personal trainer a couple times about a month ago just to make sure I was on track and he gave me this great reference for picking "first class foods." I often glance at this when I'm planning out my meals and snacks. I hope it helps you too.

Allow Indulgence

I give myself something to look forward to by allowing myself to have 2 meals that are worry free a week. In my mind, the only way I can make these changes become habits are to make them somewhat flexible. I really don't want to be the girl hanging out with friends on "girls night" that can't have the chocolate whatever. I plan ahead so if there are meals or times I need to splurge, I can. I will say that for the first 3 months, I was very strict about my meals and didn't allow hardly any indulgence. I wanted to see results and I knew having pizza one night out of the week would kill that whole weeks results. Keep that in mind as you're planning your week. Maybe you allow one indulgence that allows you to have one cup of ice cream a week. It's your weight loss and ultimately your decision. Just don't kick yourself if you have a bad meal, a bad day, or even week. Hop back on the wagon and start kicking it into gear again. Consistency is where you will see results. You can do this!!

As usual, leave comments if you'd like to talk about your results, questions, or even frustrations. I'd love to help anyway I can!

Here's this weeks challenge:

We'll be kicking off another challenge next Wednesday for the month of February. Stay tuned!

To see other posts apart of the Weight Loss Healthy Challenge, click on the links below:
Part One- Develop a Plan, Pick a Gym
Part Two- Workout Routines 
Part Three- Tracking Calories, Reading Nutrition Labels, Quitting Soda, Curb Cravings

Healthy Habits Challenge: January Weight Loss, Part 3

If you want to lose weight, nutrition is a huge part of it (most experts say it's 70-80% of losing weight, while the other 20% is exercise and 10% is rest). I am not a nutritionist, but I would like to talk about some things I have learned over the process of trying to figure out what has worked for me when I want or need to lose weight.

Tracking Calories

For the first week of my weight loss kickoff, I knew I wanted to keep a food journal. I created an account on MyFitnessPal, where it asked my current weight and height, and what my weight loss goals were. Based on the numbers you input, it will calculate how many calories you need on a daily basis. I would also recommend including your measurements (waist, hips, etc.) because your results will be more than just on the scale. (This is something I didn't do in the beginning and I'm kicking myself now.)

I also changed my carb/protein/fat ratio on the MyFitnessPal to incorporate a higher protein diet. The percentages you set may be different from mine as all of our bodies will respond differently to food.  My body responds to more than the 15% protein MyFitnessPal suggests so I put my percentages at: 50% Carbs, 25% Protein and 25% Fat.

If you're curious what you should be shooting for, the guidelines from the USDA are:
45-55% Carbs
10-35% Protein
20-30% Fat 

Feel free to play around with these ratios to see what works for you. I would recommend keeping the same ratio for two weeks to see what kind of results you're getting. To change these ratios, you must login to MyFitnessPal on a computer (these expanded options are not available on the mobile app). Once you've logged in, click "My Home", then "Goals", then "Change Goals", and choose the "Custom" option. On that page, changes the percentages you want and then when you're finished click "Change Goals" at the bottom of the page to update your account.

Once you have this all set up (it only takes a few minutes), you're ready to track. MyFitnessPal is super easy to use as you can search for foods- like a medium apple, or chocolate larabar. You can also scan foods so it will pull their nutritional informational. You can also input your own recipes or search keywords to find recipes similar to yours. And if you're out to eat, they have a great search funtction for that too. I was out at Chipotle the other day and search for "Chipotle Burrito Bowl" and found one with beans, rice and sour cream. It was super easy! You can also track how many cups of water you're drinking a day.

Curb Cravings

Cravings are going to happen anytime we are trying to "reprogram" our bodies to create new habits. Here are a few tips I have to curbing those cravings and succeeding.

1. Be prepared. I've noticed if I'm prepared to fight cravings, I succeed. I've told you that I always have a chocolate or sugar craving in the afternoon around 2pm. I have found that if I have veggies or fruit readily accessible, I can easily pick that over the sugar. So I put carrot sticks in ziplocs all portioned out and ready to go. I also have all my fruit and veggies washed after we get home from the store so they are easy to grab. If for some reason that doesn't seem to have worked, I have a Pumpkin Chocolate Granola Bars as I've found these to do the trick.
2. Drink a lot of water. It will make you feel more full and satisfied. If I'm having late night cravings, I drink a large glass of water and go to bed. 
3. Paint your nails. If you're having a really bad craving, paint your nails. It's really hard to eat when your nails are wet. :)

Here's also a food craving chart that I found on Live Love Fruit that explains what our body really needs when we're craving something specific.

Quitting Soda

When I kicked off this weight loss, it was about a month after I quit soda. I had a crazy habit of drinking about three 12 oz. cans of soda a day and I knew it was a habit I needed to get rid of. The first week of quitting was tough. I had a constant headache and super tired, not to mention cranky. The second week was still filled with plenty of headaches, but by the third week, I was back to normal and never wanted to drink a soda ever again! Fast forward a few months, and the taste of root beer or sprite sounds really, really good on the weekends. So I allow myself to have 2 sodas a week. This gives me a fun drink to look forward to, but will not allow me to get hooked again.

If I have more cravings throughout the week, I make myself a glass of ice water mixed with fresh or frozen raspberries and lime juice. It tastes amazing and gives me the boost of flavor I was looking for over plain old water. :)

Reading Nutrition Labels

This weight loss challenge has motivated me to buy more local meat and fresh produce as it's proving hard to really know what is in pre-packaged food. Manufacturers are very clever in listing out ingredients on a package. Did you know that there are over 100 names for sugar? Amazing, right?  I am still learning, so I will be honest and say I'm no expert at reading labels. But there are a few things I look for when I'm buying packaged goods.

1. Recognize the ingredients. I try to buy products where I recognize the ingredients. The less ingredients, the better! I follow 100 Days of Real Food's advice and try to only buy items with 5 whole ingredients or less, but sometimes it's really difficult. With more ingredients, there is usually more processing that comes with it. Watch this helpful video that Lisa Leake from 100 Days of Real Food created to help us understand the ingredients list.
   
2. First ingredient. The ingredient list is written in order of what each product has the most of. So if the first ingredient is sugar, that's the main ingredient in the product and it''s probably not the best choice.
3. The label. Keep an eye on bad fats (trans fat), sugar, sodium, and fiber.

• Trans fat- These fats increase LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) and lower HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol) as well as slow metabolism.
• Sugar-  To visualize how much sugar is in a food, divide the sugar grams by 4 to convert it to teaspoons. So if a food has 20g of sugar per serving, it has 5 teaspoons per serving. 
• Sodium- The recommended daily sodium intake is 2300mg for the average person. 
• Fiber- It's recommended that women have 25g of fiber everyday, and men have 38g. Fiber makes you feel full so you will eat less.

To get a good visual breakdown of the nutritional label, check out this graphic from Flavour Fiesta. 

Next week I'd like to share some sample daily meal plans and answer any questions you still have that I may have overlooked. Do you have any more questions about weight loss that I haven't covered? Feel free to ask them in the comments.

To see other posts apart of the Weight Loss Healthy Challenge, click on the links below:
Part One- Develop a Plan, Pick a Gym
Part Two- Workout Routines 
Part Four- Portion Control, Meal Plans & Indulgence

Healthy Habits Challenge: January Weight Loss, Part 2

Last week I promised to share some of my workout routines with you and I'm here to deliver that promise! These are some of my favorite workouts that I come back to time and time again. And the good news is, you can do some of these at home very easily as there's minimal equipment needed (for some of these)... just your dumbbells.

I know I talked a lot about focusing on cardio last week. I really believe that if you are just starting your journey to weight loss (even if you've already been working out a little) that you need to spark your weight loss by intensifying your cardio. I'm here to tell you about my favorite cardio workouts called HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training. The reason why I love them is because they aren't very long (most are 20-30 minutes), but they offer a great sweat and calorie burn. It's an efficient, but challenging workout, which is great if you're short on time. A 20 minute HIIT workout can burn more calories than 60 minutes on the treadmill, and if that isn't convincing enough, it also burns calories for 24 hours after your workout. It's a tough 20 minutes, but even if you do this three times per week, you will start seeing results in just three weeks. I've illustrated a few of my favorite HIIT cardio routines with graphics below and have offered an explanation on those I feel might be a little confusing. If you need further explanation, or have questions about those I didn't explain, feel free to ask questions in the comments.

 

With this above 20 minute Elliptical HIIT, first warmup for 5 minutes at a moderate pace. Then, start the workout. You will sprint for one minute and then go at a moderate pace for two minutes. So, for 0-1 minute, at a resistance of 8 you will sprint; from 1-3 minutes still at a resistance of 8, you will go at a moderate pace. For minute 3-4 at a resistance of 8, you will sprint. For minute 4-5 at resistance of 8, you will go at a moderate pace, and for minute 5-6 you will bump up the resistance to 14, but still go at a moderate speed and so forth.

   

 

In case you're wondering what a stepmill is... this is a stepmill. It also goes by names like stairmaster (though it's different than the stairmasters of the 90s) and stairmill. It's just a revolving staircase on a belt so it's like you're working out on your own stairs at home. And it's a great workout! For the above 20 minute Stepmill workout, first warmup for 5 minutes. I usually warmup on an elliptical or something different as my legs get a good enough burn on this workout in the 20 minutes. Once you've warmed up, start this workout on the stepmill at a speed of 8 (if that's too fast, feel free to work up to that speed. If you think it's too slow, just give it a bit. I promise this workout will kick your booty by the middle). When you're on a speed of 8, you will do a single step, or climb the stairs one step at a time like you normally would. From minutes 2-4, bump the speed up to 10 and do a double step, or skip a step every time. And if you feel like you need to take a break, pause the machine for 30 seconds and get right back to it. I will usually take a break at minutes 8 and 16 to bring my heart rate down a little bit. Those double steps at 10 are awesome!

As some of the graphics show, I usually add a good 5-10 minute warm-up to these routines just by hopping on the machine of my choice (treadmill or elliptical usually) at a moderate pace. In addition to these great HIIT cardio sessions, I like to add some strength training, or weight lifting. And don't worry ladies, lifting weights will not make you huge. Lifting weights will give you more muscle, which will increase your metabolism, which will cause you to lose weight. And that's what we want, right?!

Above is a great all-in-one workout that incorporates your weight lifting and cardio together. It will take about an hour, and it will be challenging, but you can do it! Here's the way it works: start with the red box, box #1. There are three circuits, and you will start with circuit A. Do it three times (with a 30 second break in between rounds- one round will be 10 jump lunges, 10 reverse lunges and 10 burpees), then move onto circuit B. Do circuit B three times (with a 30 second rest in between rounds), and move onto circuit C. Do it three times (again, 30 seconds rest between rounds), and then move onto the grey box, box #2 and so forth.

If you're doing one of the HIIT routines above that's around 20-30 minutes, add your weight lifting before you do the HIIT cardio. The reason why I do my strength training first is if I do my cardio first, I am exhausted and so are my muscles so it's hard for me to lift a decent amount of weight, but if I lift weights first, the entire exercise routine feels easier than it would if I reversed the order. Make sure when you're lifting weights that you're challenging yourself. You should be using at least 5 pound dumbbells, if not 8-10 pounds. By that last round, the exercise should be challenging. If it's not, you're not lifting enough weight. Change happens when you're uncomfortable and keep pushing yourself!

If you're looking for more workout ideas, follow our exercise board on pinterest. If you're on instagram, there are some great people to follow that post amazing workouts. My favorite accounts are @iamfitmiss, @jillkfitness and @fitnatic_style. If you're into crossfit, you can check out the WODs (workout of the days) online. If you're not sure what some of the workouts are, just look up the exercise on YouTube to make sure you have proper form. And if you're doing this at home, check out Blonde Ponytail with great workouts that need minimal equipment.

If you're curious what my typical week of working out looks like, here's a couple varieties. (I like to keep my body guessing so I mix it up quite a bit so it doesn't get used to the same old routine).

OPTION 1:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Weight routine (legs & arms)* followed by a 20 min HIIT	1 hour HIIT routine (like the last workout pictured above)	Weight routine (back & abs)* followed by a 20 min HIIT	1 hour HIIT routine	Rest	1 hour spinning class	Rest

OPTION 2:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Weight routine (legs & arms)* followed by Crossfit Tabata	1 hour HIIT routine	1 hour spinning class	Rest	Crossfit workout	1 hour Yoga with 20 min HIIT after	Rest

*I usually pick one of @iamfitmiss routines, but I might cut down the reps as most of her workouts are planned to be about an hour.

Next week I'll be talking about nutrition which is crucial to losing weight. In fact, losing weight is 80% nutrition and 20% exercise. In preparation for next week, I'd like you to keep a food journal. I use MyFitnessPal to track my calories and I highly recommend it. It would be a great way to keep a journal this first week to see what you're eating, and to try and find patterns with areas of struggle. (For instance, I know I struggle at about 2 p.m. every day. I ALWAYS have a sugar craving that time of day! Now that I know that, I can prepare to have a healthier snack ready so I don't reach for a huge handful chocolate instead.) There are other great apps to track what you're eating too, but MyFitnessPal is the only one I've used consistently.

If you're up for this week's challenge, let us know in the comments so we can rally together and help support one another.

 To see other posts in this month's series, click the links below:
Part One- Develop a Plan, Pick a Gym
Part Three-Tracking Calories, Reading Nutrition Labels, Quitting Soda, Curb Cravings 
Part Four- Portion Control, Meal Plans & Indulgence 

Healthy Habits Challenge: January Weight Loss, Part 1

We're excited to introduce a new series on Pass the Fresh. With it being the New Year and all, resolutions are a "hot" item. Instead of setting yearly goals and talking about them throughout the year, we are going to set a monthly goal, or challenge, to work towards over the 30ish days in the given month. We are calling it the Healthy Habits Challenge and they will will focus on three things-- food, fitness and family. During these challenges, we encourage you to participate if you're so inclined and the monthly challenge is something you'd like to work towards as well. We'll be using the comments as a way to rally together and help each other succeed. So leave your questions, your feedback, venting, or roadblocks that you'd like to discuss. We look forward to making 2014 the best year yet! We'll hand the floor over to Deb to kick off this month's challenge...

In the last 4 months, I've really cracked the whip on my workout schedule and eating habits. I've lost over 15 pounds and after three children, I'm proud to say that I'm lower in weight than I was before I had my first baby. It hasn't come without a lot of hard work and sacrifice, though. Every Wednesday this month, I'd like to share how I've lost weight, and how I'm still shedding. (I have about 7 more pounds I'd like to lose).

If losing weight is one of your goals for the year, join along with me. We can cheer each other on! I'll be sharing useful tips every week along with a weekly challenge at the bottom of each post. In the comments, I'd love to hear more about you and your goals with losing weight and hitting the gym. Also, if you have specific things you'd like to know over the coming weeks, ask me in the comments. I will say that I'm not a personal trainer, but I have been down this road so I am here for you!

Now let's rock 2014 like no tomorrow! This is our year!! And if you can tell by the socks below, I'm serious about this! :)

Just so you know my story, let me back up a little bit...  I've had about every scenario in the last 6 years. I've had 3 babies, we've lived in 3 different states, I've worked part-time, full-time, and now I don't "work" at all. I've been a part of every gym imaginable. I've worked out at home in the evenings, I've joined a box gym with no classes or childcare, a rec center with minimal childcare, and a local family-owned facility with classes and great childcare. After I've had each of my children, I've gone to the gym (or have worked out at home) in hopes that I'm able to get back to where I once was. Each time I've gotten close, but not nearly as close as I have this time. I want to share with you what has worked for me in hopes that it helps you with your weight loss goals.

Here are my 3 tips for you to focus on this week:

1. Commit to losing weight. This may sound silly, but you need to decide and commit to losing weight. If I ever hit a day that I don't want to go to the gym, or I don't want to fix a healthy meal, I tell myself, "This weight isn't going to lose itself." And it's true. It would be great if I could go back to my college days and eat an entire bucket of ice cream without any consequence, but here I am at age 34 and I have to work to keep my body strong and healthy. After I weaned baby #3, I decided I wanted to lose weight and hit that number that I've been trying to hit for years. I was going to stick to that goal.

Do whatever it takes to remind yourself of your goal. We all are motivated differently, and you probably know what works for you. Build your weight loss plan around that. Here are a few motivational ideas:

• Hang sticky notes on your mirror with inspirational quotes.
• Put a picture of yourself on the refrigerator.
• Keep a list of go-to snacks so that when you're hungry you'll skip over the chocolate chips in your cupboard and go for some carrot sticks or yogurt instead.
• Give yourself prizes for meeting goals along the way. Maybe you get a new pair of workout pants when you've gone to the gym 20 days in a month. Or maybe it's when you lose 10 pounds.

Figure out what you're motivated by and write up a workout plan. It doesn't have to be anything elaborate, but I would recommend at least three things.

• Write down what weight you want to be.
• How many pounds you want to lose a week (1-2 is recommended).
• How often you are going to go to workout.

2. Pick a place to workout. We all have different schedules and needs so you can decide what is right for you. Do you want to workout in a gym or at home? If you'd like to workout in a gym, I've been a member of just about every type of gym out there. My advice is to figure out what is important to you in a gym and make sure you find the right fit. I promise you will be more motivated if you pick something that is exactly what you were looking for. Here are some examples of things you want to think about:

• Do you want a pool? 
• Do you want classes? If so, what kind? 
• Do you require childcare? If so, how long per workout? Also, what ages are your children? Do they have an age limit? Is childcare an extra charge? Are the older children (i.e. 8+) in a separate room, like a game room?
• Do they have the equipment you want? Free weights? Kettlebells? Ellipticals? Stair Climbers?

Check out gyms in your area at the time you'd normally workout to get the best feel for what it will really be like when you go. See if they offer a guest pass for a few days so you can give it a trial run to make sure you like it.

If you're working out at home, make sure you set aside an area specifically for working out. There are many home workouts that you can do with minimal equipment, but I would suggest investing in a cardio machine- like an octane, elliptical or treadmill. Running outside is also a great option as well as stairs to do workouts. If you're handy, there are many items you can build or use with minimal investment. I would also suggest investing in some hand weights. If you're just starting out, 5-6 lb. weights would be perfect or if you're an intermediate, go for 8-10 lb. You can usually buy these at Target for $10 each, or $20 for the pair.

 3. Set a workout schedule. If you can pick the same time to workout everyday, do it. If not, sit down and figure out a schedule that will work for your needs. If you set the intention that you are going to go workout, you are more likely to succeed.

If you're just starting out, pick 3-4 times a week that you can workout for 30-45 minutes. If you're intermediate, shoot for 4-5 days a week for 45-60 minutes. If you're ready to kick this into high gear, pick 5-6 times a week for 60-75 minutes. If you're curious what I did this time around, I picked 6 times a week to work out, knowing one of them probably wouldn't pan out due to life happening. I usually hit the gym 5 times a week for 75 minutes for each workout. Each workout, I mix up what I do to keep my body guessing. If I keep my body on its toes, I will not only burn more calories, but I strengthen my body in the process too. Next week, I'll focus on workouts a lot more so you have a catalog of workout ideas at your finger tips.

At this time, just focus on getting at least 30-45 minutes of cardio in. Do more if that's already what you're already doing. When it comes to losing weight, it's all about making your outtake more than your intake. Burning more calories is increasing that outtake. So the cardio must be bumped up! As much as I love Yoga and Barre, I don't count these as one of my 5 workouts right now. They can be done in addition to my 5 workouts, but that's it. Though they are great for strengthening the core and making a lean body, burning calories is where it's at for overall weight loss. In a 60 minute HIIT class, I burn 480-600 calories (plus it provides a 24 hour additional burn). With yoga, I burn about 200 calories in 60 minutes. So you can see why I choose the HIIT for now.

If you get bored on machines like I do, it's okay to machine hop. On my cardio-only days, I usually do something like 20 minutes on the octane (like an elliptical), 20 minutes on the treadmill and 10 minutes on the stair climber and in between each machine hop, I do 1 1/2 minutes on the Jacob's Ladder. If you're not sure what intensity to do for now, you need to be pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. That level will be different for everyone. If you're just starting out, walk on the treadmill for 30 solid minutes. You can bump up the incline to provide more resistance if you need a little bit more, but are not comfortable running yet. As promised, I will have great workout ideas for you next week. In the meantime, just get to the gym and be active. Feel free to ask questions in the comments below.

If you're joining me in this challenge, comment below so we can all keep tabs on each other. Use this post to ask questions, vent frustrations, or bounce ideas off each other. See you next Wednesday!

To keep following along, here are the other posts apart of this month's Weight Loss Challenge:
Part Two- Workout Routines 
Part Three-Tracking Calories, Reading Nutrition Labels, Quitting Soda, Curb Cravings 
Part Four- Portion Control, Meal Plans & Indulgence