Road Trip Snacks !

I'm super excited that I am going on a road trip tomorrow. We are going way up north for a Family Reunion and even into Utah to hike (if time permits). It struck me that this could throw a wrench into my plans to continue eating healthy. Then again, it will only cause a problem if I fail to plan for my car snacking that I love to do. I already know that I am going to want something sweet, salty, crunchy or creamy and make an excuse to grab something crappy at the gas station. I am not going to allow myself to have that excuse by making sure I pack some healthy snacks. Shape.com has some good ideas, but I have to admit I already thought of these ones. They list Jerky, Fruit and Fruit & Nut Bars. My problem with these suggestions is....Where's that salty crunch that I am looking for?!

Here's what I came up with:

• Pretzels (not really my fav. )
• Quaker Rice Cakes. They even have mini ones in a bag called "popped" and they have Ranch!
• Raw Unsalted Almonds
• Popcorn (once again, not really something I care for)
• Frozen Grapes (mentioned by one of my Instagram friends. They aren't salty, but they are definitely crunchy!)
• Roasted Chickpeas. (I've personally never had these and found it by doing a search. Sounds yummy though! )
• Kale Chips (I really want to try these but I can't find them anywhere!)

Well, that's all I could think of . What healthy snacks do you take on your road trips?

Changes to my Diet Plan

 

I am incorporating Advocare products in my diet again. I am also going to follow their eating plan the best I can. I am somewhat following the 24 day challenge, but without the cleanse phase and I am not using all of their products. Below, I am going to give you a break down of what my day today will be like.

8:00 am : Spark and Color packet of MNS Max 3
8:30 am: GNC Lean Shake
10:30 am: Apple with 1/2 packet of Justin's Maple Almond Butter
12:15 pm: Color Packet of MNS Max 3 
12:45 pm: Prepared lunch consisting of a pita pocket filled with canned chicken breast, romaine lettuce and red onion. Also a veggie salad with low cal dressing. Both White Packets of MNS Max 3
4:00 pm : 1/2 cup of Red Grapes and 14 raw almonds
5:45 pm: Pre-workout N.O. Xplode mixed with BSN Amino X (I mix them because I think N.O. Xplode is gross. I also use these because my Fiance bought them and they are just sitting on the top of my fridge)
6:15 pm : Cardio Zumba workout for 45 minutes
7:15 pm: Dinner of 4 oz All Natural Chicken Breast  with mixed veggies, black beans, and pico de gallo. I take my Omega-3's at this time as well. CoQ10, Fish Oil and Flaxseed Oil. I also take muscle recovery supplements such as L-Arginine and L-Glutamine at this time.
Throughout the day: Drink Water constantly. I probably drink easily over 100 ounces of water a day. 

So, that's my little improvised version of the plan advocare uses. Now below I will show you what they say to do. They consider this the "Max Phase" in the 24 Day Challenge:

30 minutes before breakfast: MNS Color Pack and Advocare Spark (optional: Catalyst and ThermoPlus)
Breakfast: Advocare Meal Replacement Shake
Snack: a small amount of one of the 24 day challenge approved foods
30 minutes before lunch: MNS Color Pack (optional: Catalyst and Carb-Ease Plus)
Lunch: Both MNS White Packs. A protein, Veggie and Complex Carb
Snack: a small amount of one of the 24 day challenge approved foods
Immediately before dinner: Optional Carb-Ease Plus ( only take once a day)
Dinner: Omegaplex pills , Protein, Veggie and Complex Carb
Snack: a small amount of one of the 24 day challenge approved foods
Bedtime: Optional Catalyst
Throughout the Day: Advocare recommends the following equation to figure out how much water you should be drinking:

Body Weight (in pounds) divided by 2 = ounces of water you should consume per day. So, for me that is 188/2 =  94 ounces of water per day. It sounds hard, but once you start doing it, it is second nature to constantly have a water bottle by you.

So, as you can see, it’s pretty close to the Advocare plan. I’m just using some things I have on hand rather than all of their products.

Here's to hoping I get the quick (but healthy) results I am searching for!

Why you Shouldn't Trust the Scale

Of course, there are quite a few reasons you shouldn't use the scale alone as a tool to gauge your progress. However, I am only going to talk about one of those reasons. My scale was literally lying to my face. I was using one of the old style scales and it would give me different readings. I got tired of it acting up, so I went and bought a snazzy new digital scale. I also had suspicions because every time I would be weighed on a doctor scale it said I weigh more. Well, it turns out that my old scale was being too kind and was telling me that I weigh 6 pounds less than I really do. That doesn't mean that I didn't still lose those three pounds last week. It does mean that my starting weight was 6 pounds higher. Talk about a low blow. My starting weight is actually 193 pounds and I am now 190 pounds.  Rather than 187 and 184. Yes, it really sucks but it doesn't mean anything when I think about it. If I hadn't found out soon enough then it may have affected me more drastically . Even then, I still have my progress pictures and my measurements to fall back on. Those will never lie to me! So the moral of the story is, gauge your progress using mutliple tools and you are less likely to go awry when one gets messed up or is less than your desired result. You can also gauge it on how you feel as well. I took pictures, measurements, and I'm using the scale. I also feel so much better already.

A Tip to Use When You're Hungry Between Meals

I just shared this tip on Instagram and decided that it was important enough to share on my blog as well. I didn't really realize until now how much mind over matter is a seriously important tool in weight loss. So, here's my tip:

I originally started saying this to myself when I was following Jorge Cruise's 3 hour diet. He believes eating every three hours will help you lose fat rather than muscle. He has scientific studies to back it up. Some people believe it and others are still skeptics. In my opinion, I see no harm in loosely following it. I don't time my meals per say or use a stop watch to make sure I eat at exactly three hours.  I do, however, plan my meals in the same fashion. Here's what a typical days calories look like for me:

Breakfast @ 8:30 am, 300-400 cals (less if I am drinking my meal replacement)
Snack @ 10:30 am, 100-150 cals
Lunch @ 12:45 pm, 400-500 cals (less if I am eating a gigantic salad with low cal dressing like I did today)
Snack @ 4:00 pm, 100-150 cals
Dinner @ 7:30 pm, 400-500 cals (less if I am eating a 4 oz natural chicken w/ steamed veggies because I want dessert!)
Dessert @ 8:15 pm, 100-150 cals (I probably do this about 2 times a week and it's a sherbert w/ fruit).

So as you can see there isn't much time between each meal and I shouldn't be feeling hungry. Sometimes I don't eat enough cals at a meal because I don't "feel" like I need them at the time but then I end up eating a larger snack. You know what? That's fine! As long as I am within my allotted 1,650 cals at the end of the day then  I am doing just fine.

Remember: The next time you are reaching for something when you just ate an hour ago...You're next meal or snack is only 2-3 hours away and YOU CAN WAIT!

Please note: The 1,650 calorie allotment that I mention is based on my height, weight, activity level and sex. If you need help figuring out what a healthy amount of calories would be to lose weight , I strongly recommend doing a post in the forums on Calorie-count.com and asking. There are some very nice and helpful people on there. While the Calorie-Count.com website alone is a good resource, I don't feel like their calculators on there are very individualized and their calculator advised me to eat an amount under my Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and I was feeling hungry because my body was starving. Ask for help in the forums and you will be happy that you did!

Week One Weigh In and Update

Hey guys! I've been doing great with my plan! I slipped a little on Father's Day but I am pretty sure I actually stayed within my calories at the end of the day. Saturday night I basically drank most of my calories but I didn't use being drunk as an excuse to eat everything under the moon to "soak up" the alcohol when I was feeling a little sick. My new Zumba game came on Friday so even after making cake pops for 3.5 hours I got my workout in and only ate one cake pop. I kicked butt and burned over 600 calories. It felt really good.  So I think I did pretty well over the weekend even though I did not log my calories.  I still kind of counted them in my head though.
    I did my week one weigh in on Saturday Morning and I am down three pounds!! Wahoo. Also, A non-scale victory is that I have more energy, I don't feel bloated half of the time and I swear I feel a little firmer in some areas from doing Zumba! I am so excited to continue. Here's a little comparison picture for you:

See you guys soon! Here's a link to the Zumba I got for my Wii. They also have it for X-Box Kinnect.

The Waist Trimmer Belt that makes me SWEAT!

Since I have started working out I have definitely become more interested in all of the things that come with that world. New workout clothes, supplements, tools to perform better, etc. Back in October I purchased a waist trimming belt. I used it a few times and was pretty pleased with the sweat that it produced. Now that I have used it even more I can definitely say that I recommend it. The particular one that I purchased was the Bracoo Adjustable Waist Trimmer Belt, One Size, Black from Amazon. Currently, it is $11.70 and ships free if you are an Amazon Prime Member. Here's what it looks like:

After doing 30-45 minutes of Zumba while wearing this belt, I have a ton of sweat in my mid-section. One of these days, I will have to take a picture of my shirt afterwards. There is a huge sweat mark under the belt because of all the sweat it makes. I love working out wearing the belt because I know it is working and it is not uncomfortable at all. Getting all of this sweat out is getting rid of water weight. There is a pretty good article explaining all of the benefits better than I could. Click here to see it! If you have any questions, just let me know .

Weight Goal Chart

Hey everyone! I made a Weight Goal Chart today to help me see if I am on track. I am using this strictly as a guide since I am more interested in what my body looks like and how many inches I've lost rather than a particular weight. I think this will help me see if I am on track along with taking pictures and measurements. I might pick a few weights in here to be a mini goal. Also, one of my close friends is looking for people to do a 5K Run in September and I told her if I am in better shape I will do it with her. It's time to get serious!
Here's my chart in case you want to take a peak!

My New Plan

So far I have actually stuck to my plan. I have worked out according to plan and I have been eating well too.

Here's my new (more aggressive) plan :

Currently, my Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is 1,980 calories. This is how many calories I would burn if I did nothing but lay in bed all day . If you search the web for BMR calculators, you will get mixed readings from each one. I am basing my numbers off the one on Caloriecount.com because that is what I am using to count calories as well. Losing weigh is supposedly a simple mathematical equation. Burn 3,500 calories and you will lose a pound. You can burn these calories by either working out or by in-taking (eating) less calories than you would naturally burn that day. My new plan is using a mixture of both. Now, keep in mind that this is just going to be the simple mathematical version of what I am doing. Beyond mathematics, I am making other changes which I will likely talk about in future posts. Just to give you a run down, they include water intake, how I look at food, social networking, changing the food pyramid and other lifestyle changes.

Ok, So here is the raw math version of it:

Current weight is 187 pounds as of 6/08/13. I am 25 years old and 5'9".
I will eat no more than 1,600 calories EVERY day.  By doing this alone, I will save myself from 380 calories per day.
I will exercise 6 out of the 7 days of the week. My one rest day will be the weekend day that my Fiance has off work. My excercise goal will be to burn a minimum of 420 calories. I just purchased a Heart Rate Monitor with a Calories burned calculator. Here is a link to the particular one that I purchased, Polar FT4 Heart Rate Monitor (Purple/Pink) . They have it in "manly" colors as well. I wanted to get this because I am only cheating myself if I am using an app that says I am burning way more calories than I actually am. Also, using a heart rate monitor will help you keep your heart rate "in the zone" to get the most out of your workout.
Between food intake and calories burned from working out, my daily goal is 800 calories burned. If I happen to eat a little extra that day and go over my 1,600 calories, I better work it off somehow. Also, I picked 1,600 as my magic number even though Calorie Count told me to do 1,470. Why? Well, every time I shoot for 1,470 I end up closer to 1,600 and then feel like crap for going over. So, instead of feeling crappy about that  I am shooting for 1,600. You know what is funny about that? These past couple days, I have been closer to 1,500 anyways!
So, I will be burning 800 calories per day , except on my rest day which will be 380 calories. That adds up to a total of 5,180 calories burned per week. 5,180/3,500 equals 1.48 pounds per week lost. For easy math ( and hopeful thinking) I rounded that up to 1.5 pounds. 1.5 pounds times 4 weeks = 6 pounds. 1.5 pounds times 12 weeks = 18 pounds . This idea started 3 days ago on 6/8/13, so I am basing everything off that date.
 Here are my mini goals:
Current weight of 187 - 18 pounds = 169 pounds on August 31st
169 pounds - 18 pounds = 151 pounds on November 23rd
151 pounds - 6 pounds = 145 pounds on December 21st < that is my goal weight. Either 145 or a size 7.
That means I will look good just in time for Christmas Family Pictures!  Wahoo!

The only thing I need to remember to do is to adjust my allowable calories as I lose the weight. My BMR will lower and I will have to either eat less calories or burn more through working out. Here's to hoping I can stick to it this time!

Starting Over

I am going to incorporate social media this time to see how it helps. I am thinking about starting a You Tube channel of my struggle. I'm still thinking about it though. I just started an instagram. I am having weird stomach issues as we speak. Hopefully I can stick to it and do my work out tonight!