Nutritional Challenge: Day 1

So my AWESOME gym started this Nutritional Challenge which will happen every month, and provide us with ways to improve our diet and eat healthy. This month, our challenge is to eat 3 servings of vegetables per day.

I am not a big fan of vegetables. The only vegetables that I can think of that I actually like and eat, are brocoli and asparagus. I never venture into the world of squash, artichoke, brussel sprout, and these weird named vegetables. Let me start by saying I don't even know the names in English of half of these vegetables. When I was in Brazil, my mom was doing all of the cooking and groceries, so if you ask me what they are called in Portuguese, I might not even know that! Plus, I would not even know how to start eating some of these vegetables. For instance, artichokes just look scary. Looks like something someone would feed you while you were being tortured. And don't even get me started on sweet potatoes.. Ew. I'm not a very picky eater, but sweet potatoes don't have a place in my heart.

So I decided to stick to the basics, and made a menu including the vegetables I do like and am familiar with. Since I was working today and am working the next two days, I created a menu just for tonight's dinner and the next 2 days. Here's what I came up with:

*****Monday*****

- Dinner: corn, asparagus + steak

*****Tuesday*****

-Breakfast: Omelet (incl. onion, mushroom, tomatoes, red pepper, spinach)
-Lunch: Asparagus, lettuce w/ carrots and red peppers, 1/2 steak
-Dinner: Green beans, broccoli + chicken pasta

*****Wednesday*****

-Breakfast: Omelet (incl. onion, mushroom, tomatoes, red pepper, spinach)
-Lunch: broccoli, lettuce w/ carrots and red peppers, 1 chicken
-Dinner: broccoli + sausage (pasta)

In order to organize myself with the prepping, I also wrote a To Do list so that I knew exactly what to make and prepare each night. So basically, I knew I had to prep the salad and the ingredients for the omelet for the next two days, as well as the amount and what to cook each night, in order to have left overs for the next day.
Once I did that, I knew what I needed to buy. So I made a grocery list based on my menu and went shopping.

After leaving work at 8pm, doing groceries and getting home, I didn't start getting dinner ready until 9:30pm as well as prepping for the next day. We ended up eating at 10pm, but I was able to pack my lunch and breakfast ingredients for the next 2 days.

Prepping is definitely not easy. This whole planning, prepping and storing takes a lot of time, not to mention the extra containers of food I need to take to work. But at the end, you save more money this way and stick to your diet, because you will have your food ready, waiting for you. You won't be going out to buy junk food, or grabbing too much or too little out of the fridge when leaving from your house in a hurry.

My plan is to write a menu Wednesday night for the rest of the week until Sunday, and then on Sunday write another menu for the whole next week, do groceries, buy extra tupperware because I will need it, and do all the prepping for the 3 days I will be working. This way, on Monday, all I have to do is grab the containers from the fridge, put in my lunch bag, and go.

I have a good feeling about this challenge and I am excited to stick with it and see how this will improve my body's energy and performance.

And who knows, I might even venture into eating an artichoke!

Plateau: What to do??

I remember when losing weight was easy... All I had to do was stop eating as much and voila, 20 pounds lost! But not anymore.... I'm not sure if it's because I'm 10 years older now, or because of my birth control hormones.. All I know is it's been frustrating and a long journey.

The good news is I'm definitely out of the high 150's, but I seem to be stuck between 150 and 153. I even went down to 148 at one point, which is when I posted that super happy post, but now I went back up again. Today I am at 151. I guess that is what they call a Plateau.

So I decided to try a couple of things recently to see if they will help me get out of this Plateau. I only started a couple of days ago so I can't say if they are working just yet. But I will definitely post about it later to let you know the results.

1- Intermittent Fasting

I read a lot of posts in community from people who swear by it and say it works. Basically, you don't eat for a certain amount of time and then break the fasting with a light meal. Depending how long the fasting takes, you do it 1 - 2 times a week. 

I decided to try it on Tuesday to do a 24 hours Fasting. My last meal was around 8pm the previous day so my plan was to eat around 8pm on Tuesday. 

My Experience: 

It was not a good one. The morning was spent trying to avoid temptation to grab breakfast or snacks, and avoiding food commercials on TV. I was constantly thinking about food. In the afternoon, I was very cranky and kept on snapping at my poor husband, who by the way, didn't want me to fast to begin with. I was not in a good mood whatsoever. Then around 6:30pm I started feeling very weak and nauseous. It rapidly escalated to a point where I was trying not to throw up, and could only sit down. I decided to force myself to eat a couple of crackers since at this point, I wasn't hungry anymore, just nauseous and weak. Then I had some grilled chicken salad we ordered because I was feeling to sick to cook, and slowly ate it until I felt better. 

Basically, it was a horrible experience. I'm not sure I will try this again. 

Results: 

I can't tell if it really worked, since I'm always fluctuating, but I do think I lost at least 1 pound from it. 

2- Waist Trimmer Belt

I was on Amazon trying to find ways that can help me lose weight, but not in an unhealthy way. I then came accross the Danskin Womens Fitness Waist Trimmer Belt with a lot of good reviews. It is supposed to burn the fat around the waist by making you sweat a lot in that area. So I bought it.

My Experience: 

I wore it for my crossfit class yesterday. It is comfortable and although might feel a bit awkward during some exercises where you need to move a lot, like Burpees, etc, it was fine, it didn't bother me. It was stayed in place and tight. But boy, did I sweat! My waist area was DRENCHED in sweat. When I took it off when I got home, this thing was dripping as if I had dipped it in a pool. I usually don't sweat that much in that area, so it definitely worked as far as making me sweat. 

Results:

I don't know yet if it really custs the inches around the waist because I only used it once. I measure myself this morning and it's the same, but I figured it is not something that will happen overnight. I will come back to tell you if it works or not in about 2 weeks. 

3- Combo ACAI Fat Burn #3 and Hoodia Ultra 2000

I know you are probably thinking "Diet pills? Really?". Here is the thing though... They are all natural, and supposed to help you burn fat faster as well as diminish your cravings, etc. I read a lot of reviews on Amazon, and although some of them are probably fake, some of them really did seem legitimate, and according to the reviewer's history, seemed like they were actual people. So I thought to myself, what the hell, I will just try it. 

My Experience: 

I just took them this morning so it is really very early to tell. So far, no side effects. The Acai Fat Burn has the equivalent of a cup and 1/4 of coffee in each serving, but I am not feeling jittery or anything. I also had my regular cup of coffee this morning. 

Results: 

No miracles here. I will post back in about a month. 

Apart from those out of the ordinary things, I have kept eating a calorie intake that varies between 1400 and 1500 and exercising at least 3 times a week. 

Here is hoping for the best!!

**2 weeks update here**

The Complete Guide to Workout Nutrition [Infographic]

I just came across this Infographic in the Greatist website, and I thought it was super informative and useful. I had been looking for a clear guide on what and when to eat on the days I work out, and this hits the nail right on the head. This website also have lots of great other Infographics and useful information that I'm checking out now. It will definitely be on my list of favorite links :)

When Eating More Is Good For You

Now, I don't know how I feel about this whole Paleo diet thing just yet...although I have been trying to eat more proteins and vegetables, and less carbs. But swearing off carbs and sugar completely, I'm not sure I can do it. I do want to try it someday, but I feel like right now I'm still getting my head wrapped around eating healthy and exercising.

What I like about the Paleo idea though, are the amount of food you eat. You become full from eating a good amount of vegetables and lean protein. I never knew protein made you feel full faster and longer until I started crossfit and reading about Paleo.

This article title "Eat More, Weight Less" from Crossfit Rockwall's website really caught my attention. Just look at the difference between REAL healthy eating Vs. "Healthy" eating:

You can see the full article and various other comparisons here. 

It's amazing how much we can deprive ourselves of food, when it's not about not eating, but eating right. 

What will you choose to eat for breakfast tomorrow?