MEAL PLAN IDEAS

So allot of people want to start a new healthy lifestyle, but are turned off by the word DIET! The truth is diets aren't long terms..When we want to change our lives around, we have to think of the process as a lifestyle change. It's not just about looks, its about eating balanced and healthy. The results end up speaking for themselves.. So.. I wanted to post a sample of what I might eat on a regular week so you can get some ideas for your challenge.. There are so many resources online, and so m any books, that there's is no excuse to be "clueless" on what to do.. If you truly feel like you can't do this on your own,please consult a physician for help....

Here's a sample meal plan

Day One

Breakfast:egg white and spinach omelet

1 cup orange juice

1 cup fat-free milk

Lunch:A "deli special" roast beef or chicken sandwich on whole-grain bread (with lettuce, sauteed mushrooms, part-skim mozzarella, and yellow mustard)

Cheese stick

Snacks:1 cup cantaloupe

Dinner:5-ounce broiled salmon (stuffed with bread crumbs, celery, and onions) served with rice and slivered almonds

1/2 cup steamed broccoli

1 cup fat-free milk

Day Two

Breakfast:

Cold cereal with raisins and fat-free milk

1 small banana

Slice of whole-wheat toast with margarine and jelly

Lunch:Smoked turkey sandwich on whole-wheat pita bread (with romaine lettuce, tomato slices, salad dressing and mustard)

1/2 cup apple slices

1 cup cranberry juice

Snacks:1 cup low-fat yogurt with fruit

Dinner:5-ounce grilled top loin steak

3/4 cup mashed potatoes

1/2 cup steamed carrots with honey

Whole-wheat dinner roll

1 cup fat-free milk

Day Three

Breakfast:Cooked oatmeal with raisins and margarine

1/2 cup fat-free milk

1 cup orange juice

Lunch:"South-of-the-border" taco salad (tortilla chips, ground turkey, black beans, iceberg lettuce, tomato slices, low-fat cheddar, salsa, avocado and lime juice)

1 unsweetened drink

Snack:1/2-ounce dry-roasted almonds

1/4 cup pineapple

2 tablespoons raisins

Dinner:Spinach lasagna with ricotta and mozzarella cheese

Whole-wheat dinner roll

One cup fat-free milk

Day Four

Breakfast:3 buckwheat pancakes with margarine and maple syrup

1/2 cup strawberries

3/4 cup honeydew melon

1/2 cup fat-free milk

Lunch:Manhattan clam chowder/tomato soup

10 whole-wheat crackers

1 medium orange

1 cup fat-free milk

Snacks:1 large banana

1 cup yogurt with fruit

1 ounce sunflower seeds

Dinner:Asian veggie stir fry

1 cup brown rice

1 cup lemon-flavored ice tea

You can play around with so many ideas!!! Remember if you plan out your meals ahead of time, you are less likely to overeat, or make bad choices! You can do this...

2-DAY KICK START

Let's to start to get our mindset on our challenge happening in 6 days! I can't believe it's so close... This is it.. Tell yourself.. This will mark the begging of a new lifestyle for me.. Whether your goal is to loose weight, tone, eat better, be more active.. regardless of what it is.. your health is going to thank you for this! Like I said in the previous post, I want to incorporate a little bit of everything I've researched and done this past year, in order to come up with something effective and consistent..
After reading a book by Michele Promaulayko ( the editor and chief of Women's health)called "Look better Naked" I found an amazing way for us to kick start our program and have a 2 day "cleanse" to get our bodies and minds set to healthy eating habits... This is not something to be done for more than the 2 days... This is a simple meal plan that will hit your body's reset button. I am also offering some alternatives aside from the book, which to me makes this plan a bit more realistic.

Breakfast:

A yummy shake..
This can be something you either purchase such as herbal life or shakeology, or do what I do.. Make your own. I mix berries, skim or rice milk, oatmeal, and a dash of flax seed.. You can find tons of healthy low calorie shake recipes online.

This is the shake the book suggested.
1 Cup of skim milk ( or soy,almond,rice or hemp)
1 cup of berries
1 tsp of peanut butter (or flax seed oil)
1 cup of ice until frothy

Bonus: add a dash of cocoa powder!

Snack:
You can play around with low calorie veggies or fruits here.. I bounced between carrot and celery sticks and what the book suggested which is below.

1 cup of sliced cucumbers
1 cup of green tea

Bonus: Add a little vinegar and fresh dill to your cucumbers, or make a cucumber salad by slicing a couple of unpeeled cucumbers into rounds, dousing with flavored vinegar and letting it marinate for an hour. Drain off the vinegar and keep them on the fridge. I threw in a fruit also for this.

Bonus:Drink your green tea straight up and hot. Add lemon, orange or ginger for extra flavoring. You can also brew a whole pot and keep what's left in the fridge for when you get thirsty.

Lunch:
Have a nice salad, make it as tasty and as big as you like.

Book suggestion:
Steamed or raw greens (pick your favorite)
4 oz of lean protein ( chicken, lean beef or fish)
2 tsp of olive oil and vinegar.

Bonus: Play with the flavor add parsley, basil, cilantro for a nice kick.

Snack:
Again grab a low calorie veggie or fruit with green tea.

Book suggestion:
10 asparagus spears
1 cup of green tea

Bonus: Dip asparagus into non fat yogurt mixed with mustard for a nice taste.

Dinner:
Get creative playing around with lean meats and veggies. I mixed Brussels sprouts, with spinach and mixed veggies... Play with what appeals to you.

Book suggestion:
Steamed or raw vegetable
4 oz of lean meat
2 tsp of oil

Bonus: Be creative with the oil. Whisk it with some herbs to make a nice vinaigrette, you can even use it to saute your meats.

This is not hard!! I did it anyone can.. Remember its only for 2 days.. once you've accomplished this, we will go on to a balanced meal plan where you can enjoy all the good stuff you like in moderation. This is to get your mind and body set for this journey. I snacked on oranges, and almonds anytime I got hungry which surprisingly didn't really happen often... This will teach you how to not let food control you!! You can do this.. We will reach day 30 together! Start to get yourself together to do this May 2 and 3rd... (=

Gigi's 30 days lifestyle change Intro

I have decided to combined a little of the few experiences I have and come up with a 30 day challenge that will change the way we eat and exercises.. I am looking for people who are willing to better their lives, and willing to become better versions of themselves. This is not just about looks, but also about becoming healthy. In the next 30 days, we will not only cleanse our bodies, but we will gradually become more active, and push ourselves to actually enjoy it. I will be sharing with you my personal experiences, and hopefully you will be sharing yours as well. We will be dealing not only with our bodies but our minds as well. The truth is if we don't decide and commit, we will never see the results we want. I am so pumped about this I feel like writing a book!! lol
Anyways... as a introduction to our new challenge, I want you to first go home today, and look at yourself in the mirror naked! Yes, I said it...NAKED! Tell yourself you are beautiful... (oh Gigi but I have fat everywhere..") SO WHAT? You are still beautiful.. If you're starting a new lifestyle already hating yourself you are not going to get very far.. The truth is, we take care of the things we love... If you don't feel good, you wont want to exercises and diet... You will just keep digging yourself into a dark place where you are completely unsatisfied with the person staring you back in the mirror... So before we actually begin this process.... Appreciate and love yourself...
Since we will be starting this on Monday May 2nd, I want to give you a heads- up of the things you need for this challenge...
(P.S. Al thought this is just 30 days, you should continue and adapt this to your lifestyle... you wont regret it)

Exercises
Yoga Mat ( I got mine at walmart for 5 bucks)
Weights ( Walmart baby 5 bucks each)

Food
Pick up a tea that appeals to you preferably green tea
Veggies and fruits to your liking
(Pick up Asparagus and Cucumbers for our 2 day kick start)
Everything you buy white buy in wheat,( Pasta, rice, bread)
Look online for ideas for low calorie snacks and choose your favorite
Lean meats ( chicken, fish, lamb, turkey)
WATER
Milk-Try to switch to skim or soy/rice

Extra: If you don't already have a scale consider purchasing one, it's important to keep track of your progress. I also would like if you got yourself a measuring take. I actually printed mine online for free and taped it together.. I 've also seen them at IKEA for FREE! Also get yourself a notebook just for this.. we're going to be keeping a journal... it helps allot!
I want to create a community on Facebook so we can all help each other out, so if you're serious about this..Let me know so I can send you the invite!
SO, if you're serious about this... get your stuff together over the weekend, and brace yourself for a new healthy lifestyle!

WHY AM I DOING THIS?
Because I feel so amazing after sticking to a lifestyle change this past year, that I want to share it with as many people as I possibly can.... Our bodies are our temples, and we must take it upon ourselves to preserve it.. Good health is a gift too precious to neglect!!!

I am in love with Rice Milk. I always would see it in natural smoothie recipes and it caught my attention to try it out, and to my surprise I actually love the taste, it's nice and sweet!.. I did a little research to see the health benefits of Rice Milk, and why its so highly recommend among the health community, and here's what I found:
Rice milk is traditionally made from brown rice cooked with water, blended and strained to get the maximum from the grain. It is thinner and more translucent than cow’s milk. It contains more carbohydrates as compared to cow’s milk, but less protein and calcium and no cholesterol and lactose. Commercial brands are often fortified with Vitamins A and D, some B vitamins, calcium and iron.

Although rice milk is higher in carbohydrates as compared to cow’s milk, it has NO saturated fats and cholesterol and is naturally a low fat beverage. So if you want to lose weight or go on a diet,or just choose healthy, rice milk may just be a better option than cow’s milk!

Those on special diets either to lose weight and/or for other health conditions (such as heart health, allergies, lactose intolerance), fortified rice milk is a good substitute as it is naturally a low fat product. RICH Rice Milk is made from organic whole brown rice and is free from artificial colours, preservatives and flavours. It is easy to digest since it has less protein and fat as compared to dairy milk.


Reference: www.richricemilk.com

So I changed to Rice Milk when it comes to my protein shakes or snack smoothies, and I am loving my results!!! When I don't have time to peel fruits, or ran out of frozen option, I just combine half a cup of rice milk, with half a cup of natural fruit concentrate ( I always get the bolthouse farms juices..I love them www.bolthouse.com)

BAM.... it's done... great tasting, healthy, low in calories, snack or breakfast....

TIP: When having it for breakfast I mix a spoon of greek yogurt, and some flaxseed...#yummy

Jillian Michaels 30 days shred

So... with P90X done, I am giving another home work out program a try. The Jillian Michaels 30 days shred! Today was day 1 for me, and it felt pretty great! One thing I like about this work out is that it's only 20 minutes a day. Considering I've been on a tight schedule lately, it'll feel good to not have to separate a hour or more a day for a video. I plan on doing this in the mornings. I am not sure what I expect from this, off course I would definition and toning, but we'll see!!! I look forward to keep you updated on this 30 day journey..... All you need is the DVD which I got off AMAZON for super cheap, a mat and some weights..... and determination!



WHO WANTS TO JOIN ME???

Finish line-day 90!

Anytime you feel like giving up on a goal, remember the person you don't want to be- Gigi M. I DID IT! Reached my 90 days journey with P90X.. I have to say although it was extremely challenging at times, it went by pretty quick. I had a few set backs for health issues where I couldn't do the more intense work outs and was forced to modify my process, but I tried my best not to give up. I also believe now I had unrealistic expectations... which have taught me a great lesson for future work outs. Rome wasn't build in a day, therefore I can't expect a women's health body from 3 months of working out, regardless of how good a program is, it's not realistic. What I do notice is my endurance, and how I feel, which I think is vital for a healthy life style. I know that in there my mu muscles are starting to create shape and its just a matter of time before I get the results i want. For anyone wanting to try P90X my advice would be, commit...simple! The truth is, you will need to take 1 hour of each day to pop in a DVD. You will have to work out on days that you just feel like laying down and watch TV, and you will have to commit to changing your eating habits. One thing that's important is to know that things happen sometimes, which makes you loose a work out, or even a few, and sometimes you might cheat on your meal plans...and that's OK! Life happens (as a friend Andy wrote on her blog once) The important thing is to not give up! I failed from this a couple of times in the past, where I would do great for a month, then because of 1 day that I indulged, or a couple of missed work outs, I would completely give up! This time, I wanted and pushed myself to stick to this regardless of the downfalls. I recommend this work out for anyone who is willing to take the time,and effort to actually work out! I've been to the gym in the past, and felt with P90x, that I got more out of it, than my old gym days! So enough with the rambling, time for some picture updates!

MEASUREMENT RESULTS


DAY 1

Waist: 37 1/2 inches
Hips: 42 inches ( my problem area lol)
Bust: 36 inches
Thighs: 25.3 inches
Weight: 148.2 pounds

DAY 90
Waist: 34 1/2 inches
Hips: 37 inches
Bust: 35 inches
Thighs: 23.2 inches
Weight: 140.3 pounds