Week one of 2015 New Year's Resolution to Get Healthy!

Last Monday I started BeachBody's 21 Day fix and Advocare's 24 Day Challenge. Normally you should do these either or, but since I already had all the required items, I went ahead and just started both! Since then I've been feeling healthier and stronger! I've also relied on many other blogs along the way for encouragement, support, and meal ideas! It has been so great seeing results on the scale and in my pants that used to be oh-so-tight! So...with that said, I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite foods/times from this past week and maybe some of my not-so-favorite moments!

Before I share....I want to give you a heads up on what each challenge does/looks like:

Beachbody's 21 Day Fix is made up of color coded containers for portioning of your food and workout DVDs. Each container is a different food group (for example: the green container is for vegetables, the purple container is for fruits, and so on). You just do a simple equation based on your weight, and it gives you your daily intake of each container. Here's what my daily intake looks like!

Autumn Calabrese also gives you a "guide" that helps you throughout this process....it has a list of items you can eat in each container, cheat items that can be replaced with a given container, seasoning recipes (which are Delicious!), dressing recipes, and many more! :) You also have a workout DVD for each night of the week..... The best part: they're only 30 minutes a piece! Which makes working out SO MUCH NICER! I've calculated....and most of the workouts will burn around 300 calories for me! Least favorite: Cardio. Most favorite: Yoga. duh!

It is so easy!!! All you have to do is fill up the containers and you're done! Easy peasy! If you're interested in learning more, here's a link to my Beachbody coach's website: http://www.beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/BMILLWOOD44

And here is what the 24 Day Challenge looks like for advocare:

Your eating habit is basically the same as the 21 day fix.....there's no specific amount of intake. All you have to do is stay away from anything white, sugary, saucy, and dairy. :) You are required to do a cleanse for the first ten days. This is where you drink fiber drinks, take fiber cleanse pills, and probiotics. After the first ten days, you are free to eat dairy and you just take yummy vitamins throughout your day to build your healthy body back up. It's all fun and games until you have to chug the fiber drink, which strangely resembles bird seed.

Don't worry......there are only 6! Just mix it with a couple shots of Spark and CHUG! PS: Spark is the BOMB! It helps me stay awake, focused, alert, and on top of my game! Here's a link if you're interested in learning more: https://www.advocare.com/13058872/24DayChallenge/

Now that you know what I'm actually doing.....I thought I would share a couple of really great recipes I made this week. They aren't hard at all (I'm not really that great of a cook). But, they turned out SUPER yummy!

Banana & Egg Waffles with Turkey Bacon! :)

Just mix one mushy medium banana with 2 medium or large eggs. Fry them and add a teaspoon of peanut butter and a teaspoon of raw honey on top! Delicious! Turkey bacon is also SO yummy. Oscar Meyer Selects is what I currently eat. Just pop 4 pieces in the toaster oven and let them bake for 10 minutes! 

21 Day fix containers: Turkey Bacon (4 pieces)= 1 red, 2 large eggs=1 red, 1 medium banana=1 purple, peanut butter=1 teaspoon!

Another delicious, fast breakfast is an egg and turkey bacon wrap. Just make sure your wrap is whole wheat with 100% whole grains. Each wrap=1 yellow!

Chicken Vegetable Noodle Stir-Fry!

 Cut up a half (or a small whole) breast of chicken. Put one teaspoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a frying pan. Once it's hot, cook your chicken! Feel free to season your chicken with any seasoning that excludes salt! 

While the chicken is cooking, place a handful of whole grain noodles into boiling water! :)

Here comes the fun part!- I just purchased a bag of frozen stir-fry veggies from the store (I think it had mushrooms, green beans, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, and peppers mixed together). Put the veggies in a pan to cook. (You can put a teaspoon of evoo if you'd like). Then, I used a sauce inspired from the 21 day fix....I didn't have all the ingredients so I modified just a tad:

Awesome Asian Sauce:

-a dab of gluten free low sodium soy sauce

-a teaspoon of raw honey

-orange juice squeezed from half an orange

After you add the sauce and have cooked the veggies for a bit, add in the noodles and the chicken. Let the sauce soak in to all the ingredients! Then, ENJOY!

21 Day Fix Containers: Chicken= 1 red, Whole Grain Noodles=1 yellow, Veggies=1 green, EVOO=1 teaspoon, Asian Sauce=1 orange

Chicken Taco!

I used the left over chicken from another meal to make a delicious, and very healthy, taco. I originally baked the chicken in the oven and seasoned it with the 21 Day Fix "Smoky Southwestern Seasoning" mix. Of course, I didn't have ALL the ingredients, so I modified.

Modified Smoky Southwestern Seasoning Mix:

-1 Tbsp. Chili Powder

-2 tsp. Ground Cumin

-1/2 tsp. Onion Powder

-1/2 tsp. garlic powder

-1/2 tsp. Paprika

-1/2 tsp. Dried Oregano

Then, since I had leftovers, I pulled the chicken apart and added it to 1/4 avocado, a pinch of lettuce, salsa, and a whole wheat 100% whole grain wrap. YUM!

21 day fix containers: Chicken= 1 red, salsa & lettuce= 1 green , 1/4 avocado= 1 blue, whole grain wrap=1 yellow

LAST thing!!!!! Don't forget to drink that water!!!! An easy way to make sure you're getting a ball park range of enough water a day......is to just take your weight and divide it by 2. That's approx. how many ounces you should be drinking a day! And don't forget: always add fruit to make your water yummy and detox friendly!

Turned out to be a pretty successful week. As of today, the scale says I have lost 6 pounds in 7 days!

Happy Monday to everyone! Work hard this week. Don't give up! 

-Staci