Back to School Clothes - Kid Styles

I can't believe it's only a short 3 weeks left of summer before SCHOOL STARTS!  If you're like me, you don't really want to even think about it yet, but I really should start a little planning.  Along with getting new school supplies, backpacks, and lunch boxes, we also need to start going through all of our kids' clothes and see what fits and what doesn't for heading into the new school year.  For us living in the South, we are lucky that it doesn't really get to be Fall like weather until end of October/early November, so there are a lot of Spring and Summer clothes from this past season that they can wear for the start of school.  But for those of you in colder areas, what are some of your favorite Back to School clothes for your kids?  Some of my favorites that my daughter wore last Fall came from one of our favorite stores, Gymboree.  Here are a few outfits we love from there on her!  The brown flowered dress is still a favorite to wear this summer too, just without the long sleeve shirt underneath.

Find more adorable kids clothes at 

Gymboree: Gymboree

Everyday Fashion - Spring and Summer Style

One of the most fun things for me about getting healthy and fit is enjoying wearing my clothes a little more, because they fit a little better than before with a few less inches on me.  Here is one of my favorite everyday fashion styles that I've been enjoying wearing this Spring and Summer.

Coral lace short sleeved top - Apt 9 from Kohls (bought Spring 2014)
Straight leg jeans - American Eagle (bought a few years ago)
White flat strappy sandals - S.O.  from Kohls (bought Spring 2014)

Find some similar styles for yourself at:

New Fitness Find - Functional and Fashionable!

Are you a lucky exerciser like me who starts sweating almost the minute you start exercising?  Supposedly it's supposed to be a sign of health to sweat? . . . or so I've heard.  If so, then I've been really healthy for most of my life!  I would rather not sweat so much, but since I do, I always am searching for a good way to keep sweat off my face when I'm working out.  I've tried cloth headbands before, but I must have an odd shaped head because they always pop off or slide up or down, and just end up being more of a bother than what they're worth!

 I was thinking to myself the other day, I wish I could make a sweat rag I could carry in my hand that would somehow be attached to my hand or arm that I could just wipe my sweat off with when I'm running and keep going!  For a moment I thought I might have a brilliant idea for a new invention and might be on my way to becoming a millionaire . . . but then I searched online and found it has already been invented.

Introducing the handana!  I ordered 2 of these to try at http://www.myhandana.com and I've really been happy with the results!  I just use it to wipe the sweat when I'm running and it does absorb it and I keep going.

Of course you have to wash it each time before using it again, so I may recommend getting more than 2 if you work out more than twice a week like me.  But so far these have been a great new fitness find for me . . . functional and fashionable!  I got this purple stripe designed one as well as a pink one of course!  Check out their website if you want to order one for yourself! Use coupon code healthfit2014 to get 10% off!



Make sure to measure your hand to know what size to order.  I measured mine per the instructions on the site and ordered a small and it seems to fit well.  What fitness finds do you like as part of your workout wear??

My other workout wear, besides my handana, in the above picture was:
* light blue light weight sheer workout shirt with hole in back (see pic below) - Old Navy (bought Spring 2014) . .. hole is a little different, but I actually love wearing this because it keeps you so cool for running or working out in! :-)
* Nike black shorts with white trim - Academy Sports (bought Summer 2013)
* Saucony Running Shoes - Academy Sports (bought Summer 2013)

What do I eat in a typical day?

Sometimes when people think of eating healthy, they think it means boring food choices.  But I have found that to not be the case at all!  My main goals for the past month that I have really been focusing on my food choices have been no processed foods, no gluten, no dairy, and no sugar.  Basically eat REAL FOOD and try to get a lot of veggies in too!  So, that seems like a lot of NO's right?  But there are also a lot of YES's!!!  One of my favorites that I can still eat is eggs and bacon (nitrate free).  In fact, sometimes I have it not only for breakfast but for a night time snack lately.  :-)  Much better than the chips and icecream I was having before!  What does a typical day look like for me?  Here's an example from my food journal to give you an idea:

I've also found so many great new recipes to try.  I share a lot of my new favorite ones in this post  if you want to check them out, or check my Pinterest Paleo Recipe Board too in the sidebar of this blog.  I have really found that it's not all that limiting, and basically gives you a lot of possibilities to choose from eating this way.  And I've found the definite key is to plan ahead and have the right kind of foods on hand, so when a craving hits, you choose blueberries and strawberries over ice cream!

Another thing that helped me learn how to eat this way was signing up for a paid enrollment in a private 14 Day Sugar Detox FaceBook Challenge Group, where I was told the whole list of NO foods and the whole list of YES foods, received daily encouragement and support, and also was able to ask questions and learn from my leader of the group who had been through it before, as well as other members in the group.  There wasn't any fitness program or nutrition supplements that had to be bought to join this group, just a 1 time small fee that allowed me entry into the group to gain the information I needed to go through this sugar detox successfully.

How I feel from eating this way has truly been one of the best decisions that I have made and I still can't believe that I've seen so many positive results, on the inside and outside of my body, in only a month of doing this.  If you are interested in committing to learning how to eat the way I am and rid yourself of your sugar addiction for good, please contact me through email at healthyandfitat36@gmail.com or message me or comment on www.facebook.com/healthyandfitat36 and I can get you information on how you can join a 14 Day Sugar Detox Group Challenge too!

Fitting in Fitness

So, one of the things that deters most of us from fitting in fitness is finding time to, well, fit it in with all of our other responsibilities.  Especially if you are a mom of young children, like I am, it can be even harder!  I can't leave the house just yet to go for a run and leave them there, unless my husband is home to watch them.  And I sometimes feel guilty leaving them when he does get home, because then I'm missing out on spending family time together.  So how do I solve this?  Make it a family fitness time together!  Sometimes if I can get all 5 members of my family out the door (which is a challenge in of itself) then we can enjoy some family fitness time.  We try to make it fun!  Some ride scooters, some ride their bike, some walk . . . some run. 

 Although I don't ever get in as hard of a workout if my whole family comes along, at least it's time well spent together where everyone benefits.  I've also been known to include my kids in my DVD workouts too.  They joined me for one of my PiYo workouts just the other day and were happy and excited about doing it with me.  If you make it sound fun, they will have fun too, and think of the great example of being healthy and fit you are setting for them too!  

And for those times when you actually do get to work out alone, enjoy it!  If your hubby gives you a break to go for a run and he watches the kids, which mine often does because he's an awesome hubby & dad, then go for it!  Don't guilt yourself for getting some time to yourself.  I find I can always be a better mom and wife when I have a chance to recharge and feel good about myself.  Sometimes I just go into the bedroom and get on my treadmill for some time alone to workout too.  

So, the next time you're feeling pressed for time, and can't figure out fitting in your fitness, take the family or kids along with you!  You'll be happy you did!

Want to Lose Weight and Get Healthy? Try this . . .

I have recently added this to my nutrition routine, and it is helping me to reach my weight loss and health goals.  Check out the video below for more info:

What is in Shakeology?

Although I've learned to eat whole and real foods on my recent health journey, I've also realized it is really hard to fit in all of the nutrients and foods I should eat with food alone.  So, I have begun adding one of Beachbody's nutrition supplements to my diet called Shakeology.  Click below to see what is in Shakeology.



So far, I really am enjoying my Shakeology drinks and if you are interested in purchasing some for yourself, go to https://www.beachbodycoach.com/maggievee15 and search for "Shakeology" to purchase.

Please check out even more fitness programs and nutrition supplements that Beachbody has to offer on the site!

With the launch of my new facebook page, www.facebook.com/healthyandfitat36 I am currently holding a drawing for anyone who "likes" my page and "shares" the link to my page on their facebook walls a chance to win 2 free packets of Shakeology to try before you buy.  So, be sure to head over to my facebook page and "like" and "share" for your chance to win.  I will announce the winners on the facebook page.

What is PiYo? Read here about my new current workout . . .

Do you like the benefits of Pilates and Yoga classes but wish you could burn more calories and fat? I've got great news for you! With PiYo, you'll get lean and defined without jumping up and down and straining your joints! PiYo uses Pilates- and Yoga-inspired moves at a cranked-up pace, so you get your stretch, strength, and burn on—all in each workout! Click below to view a short video clip of the new PiYo workout DVD.



This is my current workout, so if you'd like to start feeling long and lean too please go to this beachbody website to purchase.  www.beachbodycoach.com/maggievee15

Please check out even more fitness programs and nutrition supplements that Beachbody has to offer at the site!

The Most Important Thing I Want My Kids to Know About My Health Journey

Thank you to everyone who has visited my blog lately and read my posts about my recent sugar detox!  I posted before and after pics of myself on my last post and I just wanted to follow up a little about that.  For one thing, that took a lot of bravery on my part to post those.  I didn't post them to say, hey look at me and how great I look!  Although I do appreciate all the nice comments and encouragement I did get from people saying I looked great, it really did encourage me.  But I posted them to show just that change can happen in even a short amount of time, if you give your body good things and real things to eat.  That's basically what this sugar detox was for me . . . a cleansing of all the sugar and processed foods my body had been used to, and a start at a healthier lifestyle eating real food!  Not only did change happen on the outside of my body, but change happened on the inside too.  I really do FEEL so much better in so many ways!  I cannot say that enough.  I don't feel as sluggish and weighed down all over like I did before.  Now granted, I have been working on being a fairly healthy person for a long time . . . I almost always exercise in some way, shape or form each week.  But my eating wasn't what it should be.  I really, really, REALLY loved sweets and things that were bad for me.  I guess I never realized how much harm it really was doing to my body.  I kept an extra 10-15 lbs on me most of the time that I really wanted off, but just hadn't committed to deciding about eating the right way, until the detox.     Now, that the detox is over everyone is asking me what am I going to do now?  Well, the truth is, not a whole lot of different things than what I was doing during the detox.  I've learned that I can continue eating this way as a lifestyle.  It's not a diet that I just did for a little while and then am going to go back to my old ways.  I worked too hard to throw that all away!  I feel that this new way of eating clean is something that is so do-able and there are so many good options of things to eat.  Not having my own sugar addiction (and that's really what it was, an addiction) hanging over me is so freeing!  Instead of searching for sweet things to eat at night, I have a lot more energy to do other things . . . like blog more :-), work on my photography, read, do fun things with my kids and husband, and just enjoy life more!     One of my favorite things my husband said to me during the detox time is that he told me how great I was looking on the outside and how proud he was of me for sticking with it, but the best change he had seen is how happy and positive I have been on the inside.  And that is really true!  I have felt so much better mentally too!  I'm not saying I haven't had stressful or sad days, because I have, but I didn't feel the need to drown my sorrows and stress into a bowl of ice cream . . . that happened a lot before.  I'm not perfect and I'm sure I will allow myself to indulge and enjoy a sweet treat every once in a while, but I really don't want to go back to my old way of eating, so it will just be every once in a while.     Now, finally to the title of this post . . . the most important thing I want my kids (and husband and other family and friends) to know about my health journey is that it is a journey . . . and it is a HEALTH JOURNEY.  Even though I posted before and after pics, I don't want the focus to be on that.  I've always been very careful when talking to my kids about not saying "I'm fat, or I'm overweight, etc"  And during this detox and health journey, I've focused on talking to them about the fact that I'm trying to eat more healthy so I can feel good and have more energy, which is really my main motivation.  I've also told them that we are trying as a family to be more healthy overall.  Do I think that all the processed snacks in my home will all go away?  Most likely not, realistically.  But I can steer our kids in the right direction of making healthy choices.  We've already made a few around our house that have gone over better than I thought . . . we limit their juice intake.  We have always limited sodas to mostly just once a week when we eat out, and most of the time make them choose non caffeinated ones.  But at home they were used to drinking juice most of the time, it was always half water/half juice, which we still do, but now we've limited them to just having one glass full of juice at meal times (so 3 times a day).  Any other time they want something to drink they have to get water.  We've always had them drink water after and during their sports games, but didn't drink it a lot while at home.  They've adjusted, although not without a little complaining, but they did adjust.  That's just one simple thing we've done.  I'm also trying to make it a rule that they at least try the healthy meal I've made with some of the new recipes I'm making.  And they do!  So, I don't have it all figured out yet about how to change my whole family over to my new way of eating, and not sure if I ever will.  But even small changes make a difference.  And through it all, I hope they will see that this is a health journey and I hope they will be inspired to live a healthy life too from following my example.     And lastly, there are many things to a person, including myself . . . right now I'm choosing to focus a lot on this health journey, because it is taking a lot of my focus and energy.  But I haven't stopped having other goals that I need to work on, just because I'm mostly blogging about this right now.  I am still going through the "Wife After God" devotional (although I am not as consistent as I should be), and I am still trying to follow along with the parenting study we are doing in our adult life group at church called "Parenting with Love and Logic,"  from the book by Foster Cline and Jim Fay.  Oh, and still working outside the home at my accounting job 22-24 hrs/week too, being a wife, being a mom, and everything else!  We all have tons of hats to juggle and roles to play in our every days lives, and most of the time if you're like me, you don't ever feel like you have enough time or energy to get to everything you want to . . . but we have to just keep doing the best we can, a little at a time.  And I hope my kids also see that you can be healthy and make changes for the better, even amidst all this chaos we call LIFE!  Oh and not to forget to have some fun too!  

Here we are all enjoying a Greenville Drive baseball game last night!  I love my family! :-)   

14 Day Sugar Detox COMPLETED! Before & After Pics and Meal Ideas too!

Wow, I can't believe the 14 day sugar detox is over and I did it!  When I first started I thought there was no way I was going to make it without sugar or gluten or dairy for one day, let alone 14!  I am so glad I did this.  If you missed my other posts about the start of this journey, please check them out here first:  Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Now, that the 14 days are over, I am happy to report that I really do feel great and think that I am planning on continuing to eat gluten free and dairy free and MOSTLY sugar free!  I wouldn't say I have tons of extra energy, but it's just different, level energy throughout the day.  I'm not having the sugar crashes and highs and lows I was having before.  Definitely a lot less bloating and puffy feeling as well.  I have added back in a few natural sweeteners like maple syrup (to make some gluten free cookies), but that's about it so far.  And I really don't feel too deprived!  During the 14 days, I lost another 5 lbs (in addition to the 4.4 I had lost previously when I started cutting carbs about a week earlier), plus I lost over 10 inches overall too!  My clothes fit better, I have gone down a shirt size, dress size, & pants size and I feel great!  I don't know if these before and after pictures really show that much difference, but I'm going to share them anyway . . . Here goes me being brave:

I post these only to show that if I can do it in the midst of my crazy and busy life, anyone can!  And if I can do it, a former addicted to sugar person (REALLY), than anyone can!  It really, really feels good to even have 9 lbs off of me . . . I feel lighter and like the simplest things that were sometimes tiresome before, are not as much anymore.  It really makes a difference overall.  I am still not totally to my goal, but I think that if I continue to eat clean and eat real foods like this, without all the processed stuff, that I will get there sooner rather than later!   In my last post, I shared a lot of sweet alternative treats I was trying, but here are also some pics of the actual meals that I've had for dinner.  Most all have at least been "tried" by the kids and my hubby has eaten them all with me too.     Paleo Stuffed Peppers

Meatloaf Muffins

Chicken & Veggie Stir Fry, made with coconut aminos instead of soy sauce, with Cauliflower Rice

Chicken Veggie Meatballs with Pesto Zucchini Noodles made with a Veggetti (found at Walgreens in the "as seen on tv section) - forgot to take a pic of our actual meal for this, but it was so yummy!

Almost 5 ingredient pizza spaghetti pie . . . one of my favorites so far!

And now that my 14 days is over, I can finally have some of my long awaited gluten free paleo snicker doodle cookies!  These are soooooo good and tasty!  

I also tried these chocolate chip cookies that were so delicious!  (Ate them too fast to get a pic! :-)  I also tried this paleo chocolate mug cake that is easy and fast and hits the spot! I even found a way to make healthy whipped cream!  Coconut whipped cream on my berries is great too!

So, as you can see, healthy, gluten free & no-sugar-added sweet treats are out there, and very good!  As long as I can keep up with having ingredients on hand to make some of these treats, I think it makes this diet very do-able.     I have started using Pinterest more to collect the recipes I find.  I am putting them on a board called Paleo Recipes.  You can see the board over in my sidebar on this blog too.  Feel free to follow me on Pinterest to see more of what I find worthy of pinning!  (I'm a new pinner, so be patient . . . )   Thanks for coming along with me on my sugar detox journey.  I hope you've learned something you didn't know before, or maybe been inspired to try something similar yourself!  Please let me know if you have any questions, and I'd be happy to help you on your health journey as well!   

Part 3 - 4 Days Down on Sugar Detox

I now have 4 days down on my 14 day sugar detox and I'm finally starting to feel more energy again.   (Click here if you missed my first post and second post about my sugar detox journey :-)    I thought since I had started un-officially a week before that I wouldn't experience the drop in energy the first few days, but apparently I had more hidden sugars in my diet than I knew!  The first 3 days I had really, really, low energy.  I even went to bed on a Thursday and Friday night at 10:30 pm!  That is so early for me, and unusual.  I normally would've stayed up catching up on shows from the week, since Thursday and Friday nights are what I consider my weekend because I don't work on Fridays.  I also would've stayed up snacking on junk too while watching the shows.  I was too tired to even really want to snack . . . much.  However, I did get a pretty good craving for sweets on the second day in.  I found some things I was allowed to have on the detox that satisfied my sweet tooth and were pretty tasty.     Here are some of the sweet snacks I tried:   Almond Butter Nut Crunch  (I made this one up)

1 tbsp almond butter, 1 tsp coconut oil, 1 tsp coconut sugar, & handful of almonds all mixed together - I ate this with a spoon! Yum!   Egg White "IceCream" (this was a recipe suggested by a member in my detox facebook group)

For this one, I mixed 2 egg whites, 1 tsp coconut sugar, 1 tsp almond butter, 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa - mix together and freeze for an hour, then eat!  The first pic is what it looked like when I took out of freezer, second pic is after I stirred it up.  It tasted pretty good, and it was nice to have a "frozen" treat.  I think I should've used more like 3-4 egg whites . . . will do that next time.   Almond Butter Chocolate Dip with Almond Thin Crackers

I ordered the Almond Thins online from Julian Bakery . . . They are INTERESTING - not as crunchy as a cracker, but more soft - probably wouldn't eat them without a dip or spread.  But if you're looking for something to eat to dip in something that is not a vegetable, than this may be a good option!

For the almond butter chocolate dip, I mixed 1 tbsp coconut oil, 1 tbsp almond butter, 1 tsp coconut sugar, 1 tsp unsweetened coca powder & heated in microwave for about 30-35 seconds.  This was very good too!  I may have enjoyed it better just eaten with a spoon, haha!   Sweet Iced Chocolate Coffee

 I know this one doesn't look that great in the cup, but it did taste good!  (I since learned that if I mix all in a blender first, it mixes everything together better and tastes better).  I was enjoying my hot coffee with the mixture I talked about in my last post using the coconut oil, however I wanted a way to make iced coffee that I liked too and coconut oil freezes up into crystals if you get it cold without mixing it up good ( I learned this the hard way! :-)     For this tasty sweet iced chocolate coffee I mixed coffee (4 oz) that was cooled in the refrigerator, almond milk (8 oz), 2 tsp coconut oil, 2 tsp coconut sugar, 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder, blend in the blender, then pour over ice to drink.  Very good!  Another variation is to add 1 tbsp of almond butter if you want it a little thicker.     So, you may see a theme here in these snacks - anything with coconuts and almonds are my friends!  :-)  These really did help me satisfy my sweet cravings over the past few days when they hit me.     Since I was feeling so tired, I only really have done formal exercise the first day so far, some yoga, which I have been enjoying more and more!  I found the first upper left pic in a magazine and asked my kids if they thought I could do that pose, and they laughed for some reason! I guess the other pics depict more of my ability level in yoga so far.  Maybe some day!

The only other exercise I've done other than yoga is help Scott work on a couple home improvement DIY projects we're doing around our home this weekend.  We decided to put a different floor down in the kitchen (just putting new vinyl tile over the old vinyl flooring for now - what our budget could afford), and taking down wallpaper border, and will repaint . . . Then I also found a cool futon on craigslist for the boys' bedroom, so I rearranged that corner with the new futon.  I finally moved the old train table and boxes of trains out to make room.  I may eventually sell them all, but for now they're headed to my mom's house for storage.  Alaina has some wooden track and trains that she has in her closet to pull out and play with when she wants, but it doesn't take up the massive amount of space that all of our train stuff did.  It's kind of the passing of an era to get rid of the train table.  The boys are growing up on me.  :-(  So, helping with these projects has taken any extra energy I've had so far.  Here are a few pics of the projects.  I'll have to update again when we are all done with the kitchen update.

One more new thing I've tried while on this detox, besides sweet snacks, is spaghetti squash!  I liked it a lot!  I just poked holes in the spaghetti squash like a baked potato, put in the oven on 350 for 1 hour, then took out, cut in half, and scraped out the spaghetti.  Then I added all natural marinara sauce (with no sugar added) and beef for the sauce.

So far, so good!  I'm down about 6 lbs overall now.  I'm trying to focus more on how I feel and how my clothes fit (hopefully will get a little bigger) more than the scale during this detox time, but it is nice to know I'm making progress!  Thanks for reading!   Click here to read about the RESULTS I got at the end of my 14 Day Detox Journey!   

Changes I Made Before my Sugar Detox Started

OK, so here is my next post I promised about the changes I've made in the week before beginning the 14 day sugar detox I am starting TOMORROW!  (If you missed reading my first post about this sugar detox, read this post first.)   So, if you know me, you know that I LOVE SWEETS!  My husband and I often joke that I have a separate "dessert stomach" because even if I'm full from my regular meal, there's always room for sweets and desserts!  Most of the time on a regular day, I am pretty controlled in my eating habits for breakfast and lunch . . . it's dinner and evening snacks I've made changes to so far, and will have to continue doing so if I want to see results.   So far I have just limited my carbs, sugar, dairy, & gluten consumption.  So basically, I've cut a lot of carbs out of my dinners and a lot of sugar and dairy out of my snacks.  I will admit I had a chocolate chip cookie (or two or three) over the past week, but hey, I had to get rid of them before this detox OFFICIALLY started, right?!  I normally have 2 scrambled eggs in a croissant with cheese for breakfast, so the past week, I just had the 2 scrambled eggs, along with 1 or 2 pieces of bacon on a couple days.  For lunch, I normally would've had a greek yogurt and crackers with peanut butter for instance.  So for the past week, I've had tuna salad (made with almonds and plain greek yogurt).  Since I'm cutting out dairy for the next 14 days too, I am going to try to make the tuna salad with avocado to make it more creamy, starting tomorrow.  I also have had some strawberries and blueberries at lunch or for a snack.  Sometimes I'll have a handful of almonds for a snack, or celery with almond butter.  Then for dinner, I really haven't been creative yet.  I basically have just had whatever meat we were having along with vegetables.  If my family was having rice or macaroni or corn, or anything starchy that I couldn't have, then I just wouldn't eat it and would eat more veggies instead.  Hopefully eventually, I can get my family into this new healthier way of eating too, but for now I have to learn first and just make small changes with them . . . more on this later on another post probably.     Then here are the BIGGEST CHANGES I've made so far . . . my COFFEE and my NIGHT-TIME SNACKING.  I really, really love my coffee . . . ask my co-workers.  I often come into work, set down my coffee I brought from home that I made (with plenty of creamer and milk), along with a starbucks iced white chocolate peppermint mocha . . . oh, it pains me to even say it!  My favorite starbucks drink!  I even learned how to make a pretty similar version at home, by ordering the peppermint and white chocolate syrup from amazon.com.  As we speak, I even have half a bottle full of each, and I'm sending them to my mom's house to store in her fridge since I won't be using them for a while.  :-(  But I can't stand for them to spoil or throw them out!     So, my NEW COFFEE ROUTINE is . . . black coffee with 1 tsp of coconut oil and 1 tsp of coconut sugar.  I am so happy I don't have to just drink it black.  The coconut oil and sugar is on the approved list for me to have, and I also like pouring about 1/4 cup of unsweetened almond milk in to make it more like a latte.  It's actually pretty good, and much better than what I could imagine black coffee would be - I haven't even tried it completely black out of fear! :) Ha ha!   Then for my NIGHT-TIME SNACKING . . . usually I would grab easy, carb and sugar loaded stuff . . . like ice cream, chips and salsa, chips and dip, about the worst thing for you.  I think I often just snack out of boredom or stress, but sometimes I actually am hungry, because I usually exercise after dinner and by the time we get the kids to bed, then I'm hungry again.     My NEW NIGHT-TIME SNACKING routine has been lots of veggies (different colored peppers or celery) dipped in either almond butter or guacamole.  Sometimes I even grab a hard boiled egg.  This does fill me up!  And that is the goal . . . eat to be full.     I already do not normally drink soda, usually just water or sweet tea.  But in the past week, I have also cut out the sweet tea.  Tonight I tried unsweet tea with coconut sugar mixed in and lime.  Delicious!  I've also had the unsweet with just lemons squeezed in, and that is good too.   I took my "before" measurements and pictures tonight . . . maybe one day I'll be brave enough to share.  But I thought it was too cute that Alaina, my 3 year old daughter, wanted me to take her pic too, with her pool floatie around her of course!  

I think this is the way I've been feeling even without a pool floatie, bloated and yucky in my mid-section.  So, here's to feeling better overall after this detox is up, and hopefully making some good changes that I stick to even afterwards!   I'm hoping in the next week to try some new dinner recipes.  Eating this way takes a lot of prep and shopping for the right foods.  The main thing I have to focus on is that overall I'm feeling better and that is the most important.  I'll try to update with new posts through the next 14 days on how everything is going and with some new recipes that I try.  Thanks for following along with me on this journey to better health!  Click Here to read Part 3 of my journey.   

Why I Decided to do a 14 Day Sugar Detox

So, if you're friends with me on facebook then you've probably seen a couple of my posts about going on a sugar free, carb free, gluten free, dairy free detox for 14 days.  I decided to blog about my journey, because it always helps me to process things when I write/type them.  Plus, maybe it will help someone else.   Disclaimer - I am not a health expert, just someone trying to learn how to live a healthy lifestyle in a busy world!  Please consult a health professional for your specific health situation.
First, a little background as to why and how I'm doing this.  I started following a mom's facebook page called https://www.facebook.com/HausOfGirlsFitFamily  probably about 9 months to a year ago, after one of my running friends told me about one of the challenges she was doing for a certain amount of miles in a certain month.  I enjoyed seeing her fitness tips and she was inspiring to me . . . a busy mom just like me with 3 children, staying fit and healthy.  Just recently, I began to see all of her posts about eating more clean and all the benefits it was providing her and her family.  I then began to check out her and her 3 other sisters' website that they have together called http://www.fourfitsisters.com  It turns out all 4 sisters are moms and are inspiring and have some great ideas!  They each are coaches for beachbody.com and run challenges in which you focus on a specific thing, whether it be a nutrional goal, a fitness goal, or both and if you sign up and join the challenge (most cost a fee), then you are placed in a secret facebook group where you receive the sisters' coaching and instruction and given information on how to go about making the healthy lifestyle change.  I decided to join the 14 day sugar detox challenge that Marta is having for a few reasons.   My reasons for doing this 14 day sugar detox:   1.  If I pay for it, I usually will stick to it.  This particular challenge cost me a small amount, but so far, it's more than worth it!   2.  I know that I have always loved sweets and bread - sugar and carbs - and I know I need to cut back on them.  They have always been my "comfort" food to go to when I am emotionally eating (which I sometimes do when worried or stressed, and not feeling so in control of myself).   3.  I always feel tired and run down.  For as long as I can remember, probably starting in late high school/early college, I am just ALWAYS tired.  Not just a little tired.  But exhausted tired.  Despite eating what I think is fairly healthy and proper portion control and exercising regularly, I still feel tired.  I wake up tired.  I stay tired all day.  I go to sleep tired.    4.  I have gained a lot more weight than I would like over the past year or two.  Two years ago, when my daughter was only 1, I went on "The Game" diet which was a challenge with friends that was based on a book called "The Game" I think where you basically played a game with others and kept points for doing certain things.  I never read the book, but just got all the requirements from the people running the challenge.  Sometimes we contributed $5-$10 to play, sometimes we contributed $20 to play.  Whoever won the challenge with the most points got the cash pool that everyone had contributed to in order to play.  The basis of this game was good in a way.  It taught portion control - there was so much of a carb, protein, & fat that you were to have each meal, and you were supposed to have 5 small meals a day, with a 100 calorie snack optional.  Also there were other requirements to better yourself, such as drinking 3 liters of water a day, and doing some sort of exercise daily for 20 minutes to get your points.  You also had to choose good habits to start and bad habits to break.  So, overall this game was good for me and my husband, who played too, and we both lost 10-15 lbs at the time.  He may have lost close to 20.  I think we both played about 3 times over the past year and a half, but the only time we really significantly saw change was the first time we played.  And slowly but surely the weight crept back on both of us.  So . . . long description to say, I know I can change my eating, but have to get back to it.  There are some things from the game diet that I still usually do, like drink almost 3 liters most days of water, and exercise most every day for at least 20 minutes.  But even throughout the game I was still feeling tired.  So, I am interested to see if cutting carbs, dairy, & gluten will help me to feel better overall and lose the weight I need to and want to lose.   5.  I had gestational diabetes with my 3rd pregnancy, and I'm supposed to be more at risk to develop diabetes because of it.  I actually have a physical coming up the beginning of July, and will have my blood/glucose levels tested, and quite frankly I was beginning to be concerned that I might test positive for being diabetic or pre-diabetic with all the sugar and carbs in my diet.  So, I am also making this change for my overall health and future health.   So, that is the background and reasons why and how I'm doing this sugar detox.  After the 14 days, I am hoping that I will have learned some new ways to eat, and that hopefully I will feel and be healthier.  I have been digesting all the information that my coach, Marta, is giving us in the group for the past week, and have made some small changes in my diet and already lost about 4 lbs this first week, just with making SOME of the changes.  I will talk about some of the changes I've made so far in my next post, even before officially starting the detox (we start this Wednesday, in 3 more days).  I also have already felt a little more energy, honestly even in the past few days.  I hope some of my readers will follow along with me on this journey!   (re-posted from another blog of mine . . . June 25 - July 8, 2014 I did this detox . . . be sure to check out my other posts to see how it went!)   

About Me . . . and Purpose of this Blog

Hi! 

 It's never too late to get fit and healthy.  I've always been a fairly active person, but I'm ready to take my fitness and nutrition to a new level.  Starting this venture at age 36, I am aware of the good and bad things I've done to my body, and I'm hoping to do more good than bad from this point forward!  Hoping to inspire, encourage, and take others along for my journey to a healthier and fitter lifestyle.  

I am a busy wife, mom to 3, & work outside the home in accounting part time as well, so I understand the challenge of fitting healthy choices into your already overwhelmed and busy life.  If I can do it, you can too!  I hope others will join me for some of my challenges and learn along with me how to be healthier in a fast paced and unhealthy world!  

Please click here to read a little more About Me and the purpose of healthy and fit at 36.

Thanks for stopping by!

 ~ Jill