Choosing the Best Diet for Your Needs

Hello, everyone!

Last week I reported on incorporating more fruits and veggies into my diet, and I really enjoyed the new things that I tried that week. However, I quickly learned that my body still does not like a lot of fiber and I have had trouble all this week and have had to take some fiber out of my diet. This brings me to what I want to share for my post this week.

There are many different different kinds of food and many different ways to eat healthy. There are also a lot of people out there with their own opinions about what you should and shouldn't eat to lose/maintain weight, and that's because what ght work for one person may not work for another. As I went through this week suffering because my body has a low tolerance for fiber, I decided that I would readjust my diet. I still am going to focus on eating fresh produce, because I saw some good success with it and I felt great (initially)! However, I am looking into the produce options that have less fiber content and still give me the nutrients that I need.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that trying to find a permanent, personal healthy lifestyle won't always be fast. You won't suddenly know what is right for you overnight. And there is always a possibility that it can change as your body changes. Keep an open mind and do your research; there is always an option out there that will work for your needs. Know your options and so that if things do change you can continue to make healthy choices for you. But most of all, don't give up. One important thing that I've learned is that just because one way doesn't work for you doesn't mean that you should just go back to the couch and the bag of chips. Your body never gives up on you, so don't give up on it. Treat your body like the amazing and wonderful gift it is, flaws and all.

Incorporating More Fruits and Veggies

Hello, everyone!
So it's a new week and a perfect time to check in and evaluate your progress on your goals from the past week. What did you do well on? What did you have a hard time with? What can you do to improve in the coming week?
This past week something I wanted to work on was really incorporating some good, natural fruits and veggies into my diet. And I made some good progress!!! In fact, I pretty much only bought fruits and veggies when I bought groceries. It's been fun to create delicious, healthy meals throughout the week.
I know that of you haven't eaten a lot of fruits and vegetables, finding new ways to incorporate them into your diet can be difficult. So, to help out I decided to share some of the things I've made this week.

Chia Seed Pudding w/ raspberries and peanuts (this is a super easy recipe! 3 ingredients!)

Salad w/ peppers, broccoli, spinach, cucumber, and buttery garlic croutons

Salad, sliced banana, and a bagel sandwich with Turkey Bacon (something I tried for the first time), cucumber, spinach, green onion, cream cheese, and homemade guacamole (avocado with spices)

Fish sticks, steamed broccoli, and greek yogurt w/ raspberries, blueberries, and granola

Chicken and quinoa stir fry

These are just a few of many options, but I hope they will give you some ideas to make some of your own dishes! If you have a meal that you really like, comment below to share the recipe! Have a great week, and don't give up!

Pounds lost: 6.5

Approaching Things with Faith

Hello, everyone!
Another week has rolled along and things are going great! I've been able to stay on track and focus on my goals. And I learned something.... I feel like I already knew it, but for some reason I must have either not fully realized it or forgot about it. So, to start off, I am going to start with a quote:

   "When you put God first, everything else will fall into place."

 Last time I mentioned that I had made some big goals for myself, and one of them, aside from living healthier, was to increase my spirituality. To accomplish this, I have made a promise to myself that I will read the scriptures daily, write in my prompting journal, and say a kneeling prayer at least once daily. As I've done this, I've seen my life change. And it hasn't even been a month! I have been less stressed and more at peace (which, honestly, has helped a lot with my health anyway), I've more fully noticed the little tender mercies given to me daily, and all of my other goals have suddenly become a lot easier. Not that they are so easy I don't need to think about them (they are year long/life goals after all), but staying on track with my goals has come a lot more naturally.

As far as weight goes, I'm less tempted to eat the junk food that makes me feel gross and I have a stronger desire to exercise and get into shape. When I've gone grocery shopping, I don't feel the need to go get the typical snack food and I focus on eating fruits to get rid of my cravings for sweets. And I don't have a scale currently, but I can tell I must be losing some weight because my clothes are fitting more loosely. All without too much thought constantly. It's a huge blessing in my life and I know it's going to help me in all aspects of my life.

So this week, I want to challenge you to try making God more of a priority in your life. If you are like me and were struggling to do the necessary things each day, make a promise to yourself to be better. Take on one thing at a time. If you are already doing those things, find a way to get more out of them. I promise that whatever your goals are, whether they be loosing weight or something else, you will find that they are much easier to accomplish as you strive to do what God has asked us to do.

Stay strong and have faith in yourself. Look to God and to others to help you with your goals and you will have strength beyond your own. And even if things are hard now, remember that you are, were, and always will be, worth it.

Write Down Those Goals!

Hello, everyone!
Wow. Sometimes this blogging thing is hard and I keep forgetting to post! I was a lot better at this before my mission. Oh well. Like I have said in the past, sometimes you have to start all over again. It doesn't matter how many times you need to start over. What matters is that you're taking the steps to change. Speaking of change...
I don't want to sound cliche when I say this, but starting on the first day of this year I made some big goals for myself. And I mean some actual goals, not just the New Year's resolutions that you make and then forget about in a few weeks, or maybe a couple of months.
I'm bringing this up is because I learned something important about my own goals. I'm only going to address one of those goals because it applies to this blog, but it applies to my other goals as well. One thing that I want to do, of course, is lose some weight. I still have a lot to lose and it can be super overwhelming when I look at the numbers. Don't get me wrong, the numbers are still SUPER important.... keep track of those numbers! They can help you measure your success! However, I also learned (partially because of having lost the weight and gaining it back because of health issues that I can't control) that I needed to be a little less specific about the pounds and a little more specific about how I was going to lose those pounds. So, with this new outlook, I made a goal that was different than my previous goal. Instead of losing however many pounds in a certain amount of time, I have a goal to live healthier.
Now here's the most important part... I wrote it down. Goals are simply just wishes unless you write them down so you can constantly go back and refer to them. And I didn't just write down the goal, I took the time to write down how I plan to achieve that goal and the habits that I want to develop within this year to help me get there.
Now, I know that this method won't work for everyone, especially if you are all about the numbers. I have decided to take this route because there a lot of things going on in my body right now that I can't control, and it's not fair to tell myself that I'm not successful because the pounds aren't coming off like I want them to. My weight is a big factor for me, but the bigger factor is that I need to work to feel good, not just look good. I don't know if this will help you as the reader of my blog, but it's a big step for me.
I also wanted to mention something again that I mentioned before is to remember to look at the small successes  you see day to day. I went to work out this morning and in the middle of my cool down I decided to turn the treadmill speed down so that I could do lunges as I cooled off. A little after I turned it down to 1.5 mph and started to do lunges, I started to laugh. Why? Because I realized that 3 years ago, that was my maximum speed and now I had some extra time to do lunges.
Make this year your best year. Write down your goals and really focus on how you will accomplish them. I promise that as you do this, the best is yet to come. Keep working hard and love yourself no matter where you are.