A Peek Inside my Healthy Fridge!

I don't know about you, but I love peeking inside of healthy fridges!! Since I have a lot going on this week, I thought I would do a short & sweet post showing you what's inside my fridge. Are you ready?!

 I'm trying to drink less dairy so I stocked up on coconut creamer. Target had it on sale for $1.90 plus I had a $1 off coupon when you buy three. I'm not that great with coupons but I try!

 This cauliflower "rice" has been so amazing to help kick my rice addiction!!

 Publix had the Udis pizza on sale for 2 for $10 this week!

 Grass fed Butter for Bulletproof coffee!

 Pete and Gerry's Organic Eggs are on sale at Publix this week for $3.99- I bought 3 cartons!

 Organic fruit

All of the grains pictured are for the hubby since he is still eating grains. Sadly, I can't have any of those but honestly, I don't miss them quite as much as I did in the beginning. I also picked up some organic chicken, ground sausage, grass-fed steaks and beef.

Like I mentioned in my last post, I am back on the Ketogenic Diet which makes me feel amazing! What I love about eating this way is that I have tons of energy and also that I don't have to limit what I eat. I'm also seeing results from my HIIT daily workouts. I am on week two and this week, my sister, Becky is now joining me in getting healthy and toned! Right now we are doing mostly burpees, jump squats, planks, high knees, etc. and we are definitely feeling the burn!

We are planning on doing a girl's shopping + Starbucks day once we both get to our goal weight. Shopping is definitely the best way to get me motivated! 

What type of eating plan do you prefer?

Keto Scare + No More Swimming

 
Hi lovies! Hope your week is going well! I still can't get over that we have less than 5 months remaining in 2016. It's really made me realize that I need to keep pushing and working hard to get all of my goals accomplished!

So what has been going on with me lately? Well first, I'm back on the Ketogenic diet. I had gotten off of it for about 2 weeks because I kept getting nauseous and dizzy. I thought that maybe that it was the lack of grains in my diet that was causing this so I ended up adding back in brown rice, yogurt and more fruits. I figured out later, that it wasn't my diet but something else entirely different.

Rewinding back to last Saturday, I woke up and nausea and dizziness immediately hit me. I got out of bed anyway, thinking that I could just have an espresso and feel better but when I tried to walk to the kitchen, I couldn't walk straight and literally ran into the dining room table. I felt very out of it and not myself; it was like I was having an out of body experience. I immediately grabbed my activated charcoal from the medicine cabinet and some water and ended up going back to bed to lie down. I got really scared because I felt so dizzy to the point that I couldn't even lift my head up so I asked the hubby to please pray over me, which he did immediately. I ended up sleeping for half the day and once I woke up, I felt like myself again. It scared me so bad that I prayed to God asking him to please heal me and to reveal to me what I was doing or eating that was making me so sick.

The following Monday afternoon, the hubby and I headed to the pool as usual and as soon as I started swimming a few minutes, I started getting dizzy and nauseous and it hit me, it was the chlorine and pool chemicals that was making me so sick!! I told the hubby that I was going to test my theory and not swim for about 1-2 weeks. Today marks almost 2 weeks and I haven't been nauseous or dizzy even one time. I have always known that I am extremely chemically sensitive to the extreme that at home I only use organic cleaners, body washes, toothpaste, laundry detergent. All of our foods are organic as well so I knew it wasn't anything in our house that was causing the problem. I honestly didn't think that the little bit of pool chemicals would bother me, but it did. Lesson learned!

So now instead of swimming, I have started back with my HIIT workouts and speed walking daily. I have been doing jump squats, lunges, regular squats with weights, burpees, mountain climbers, etc. I'm hoping that this will help build my muscle much faster than swimming did. I had issues with muscle weakness when I was swimming which have disappeared since I have been pool-free.

I'm waiting to hit my goal weight and then I plan on going shopping! I skipped both tax-free days in Georgia and Florida because I didn't want to buy clothes for the size I am now. I was really disappointed because I love shopping but I didn't want to buy clothes that I would just get rid of later. It really gave me a kick in the butt, looking at all of the cute clothing that was on sale that I couldn't even enjoy and for what? For me, it's just not worth it to not be in shape and to not feel good about myself. Now that I have figured out that the Keto diet is not harming me, I am excited to get back to it and get in shape!

Are you at your happy size? If not, what is holding you back?

My July 4th Weekend + Some Accomplishments

  

Our July 4th weekend was pretty busy but fun! Saturday, we were invited to a pool party (and yes, I did bring a bottle of wine and had only 1/2 glass) and did so much swimming! Sunday we visited my family and ended up staying most of the day. My Mom and oldest brother wanted to hear all about my new diet and I set my brother up with the free Kindle app on his iPhone and sent him some free Amazon Books so he can read all about it.

My brother hugged me when we were leaving and told me that I pretty much saved his life (he is fighting some health issues and I told him to eliminate the grains and sugars and that alone would help him tremendously). He did that and lost over 5 lbs in one week and as soon as I saw him, I instantly could tell that he had lost weight and looked healthier! It really means so much to me when I have an impact on someone's life :) And no, I'm not a health or fitness coach (although, maybe I should be?), but I've been a health nut since I was very young. I'm obsessed with a holistic and healthy lifestyle and love experimenting with foods and herbs!

Once we left my Mom's late Saturday afternoon, we decided to get our food shopping done for the week. We hit up our local Co-op, Trader Joe's and Target and of course Starbucks for a Venti triple shot espresso frappucino w/2 pumps sugar free vanilla. I love that I can have that on my Ketogenic diet!

Monday, we worked on the house all day since we played most of the weekend and we ended up getting so much done! We took a break to grill some grass-fed burgers and the hubby had a Henry's Hard Soda (no more alcohol for me!)

>> Painted Front Door on House
>> Two new clients!
>> Purchased our trip for this winter (super excited about it!!)
>> Mowed Grass
>> Hubby purchased several plants and a new pressure washer from Lowes. The pressure washer is so easy to use that I can even work it!
>> Listed more items on swap & shop (sold one item)
>> Cleaned in between all of the deck boards
>> Scrubbed the hubby's gas/stainless steel grill
>> Vacuumed Patio Cushions

By Tuesday, it was time to get back to work for the week!

>> Did some client work
>> Paid someone to update Blog Header Photos (I can't wait to see how it turns out!)
>> Listened to three sermons back to back on Wednesday. It was everything that I needed to hear! The same message "God is working it all out, just leave it in his hands." And that is exactly what I plan on doing!
>> 6 new positive reviews in the last couple of weeks for my VA eBook!
>> Cleaned out and organized all of my online folders
>> Received another amazing review from one of my clients! I love my clients, they are the most wonderful and inspiring women!
>> Housework- lots of laundry, dishes and cooking!

Things have been going amazing and I'm sticking with my Keto diet. I'm still at same weight loss- around 9 lbs. but I feel great and that is the most important thing!

It's late afternoon here right now and it just started raining, so I may not be able to paint the bottom garage door like I had planned, unless it clears up soon. But I do have plans to hang some pictures and a mirror tonight (with the hubby's help, of course).

How was your July 4th weekend? Did you do anything exciting?

Fitness Goals + Bulletproof Coffee!

Happy Friday!! This has been a really great week for me because I am finally seeing some results from all of the hard work that I've been putting into my workouts and healthy eating! Currently, I have lost about 5 lbs so far and I feel like I have more energy. Getting to my goal weight + toned is on my 2016 Goals/Vision Board so I plan on getting it accomplished!

My "whys" for reaching my goal weight:

>> Look good in everything!

>> Have more energy

>> Get rid of food allergies, intolerances

>> Feel confident & secure in my own skin

>>Self-love, stop being so hard on myself!

>> Look amazing for my hubby!

>> Summer- look amazing in my swimsuit!

I have been swimming almost every day and speed-walking for about 1 hour per day. I have decreased my HIIT workouts from 4-5 to about 2-3 times per week. I just started a new eating plan that I am so excited about that I want to share with you guys!

It's called the Ketogenic diet and it's been around forever but lately I have been seeing bulletproof coffee on Instagram, etc. A diet based around drinking coffee definitely piqued my interest! I downloaded a couple of Ketogenic Kindle books and did some research online and it seems like a really great diet! 

 

via Cafe Gras 

Thursday was Day 1 and it was rough because I completely eliminated all sugar and carbs. Usually, I eat some carbs and sugar on a daily basis, so not having any, really put my body into detox shock!

Here's Day 1 on Keto:

Breakfast:

7:45 Bulletproof coffee for Breakfast

9:00 Bulletproof coffee

10:00 1 organic fried egg, handful organic sauteed greens & 1/2 chicken sausage

Basically, to make the bulletproof coffee, you need 1 cup organic coffee, 1 tablespoon of whipping cream (preferably organic, grass-fed), 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of coconut oil. (I actually only 1/2 tbsp of butter). You blend all of these ingredients together in a blender or with a hand-held frother. Don't add any sugar! I found that it tastes so good on it's own, that I don't even miss the sugar. There are other specific products that you can buy to enhance your coffee, but I decided to start my Keto diet on a budget to see how it works before I invest too much.

I made the mistake of taking all of my vitamins at once and walked for about 10 minutes. I started to feel nauseous so I went back inside and hydrated with lots of lemon water. I can definitely feel the detox today. I haven't been without sugar or carbs all day, like ever!

Lunch:

2 organic boiled eggs with 1/2 avocado, olive oil, sea salt

Snack: 

Bulletproof coffee

I did eat some grapes and almonds (the grapes were a no-no but I started feeling nauseous and needed something with sugar in it)

I felt better after another bulletproof coffee and a snack, so I speed-walked for about 35 minutes and felt okay this time. Once the hubby got home, we headed over to the pool and went swimming for an hour. We literally exercised the entire time. I can really tell that the swimming exercises are toning my muscles, which I'm really excited about!

Dinner:

Huge Kale & Romaine salad with organic chicken & Greek vinaigrette dressing with grated Parmesan

Snack:

1/2 of Paleo Grass-Fed Bar

Day 2 on Keto:

I feel so much better this morning! For breakfast I had 2 cups of bulletproof coffee and 1/2 of a Grass-fed Paleo Bar, 1/2 chicken sausage and 3 oz. of raw cheese. I convinced my hubby to try my Bulletproof coffee this morning and he liked it! 

I'm really feeling excited about the Keto diet, because I have dealt with so many issues with food intolerance and allergies in the past couple of years. I haven't found anything that has helped so I'm really hoping that this is the answer. It would be so amazing to wake up every morning and feel normal and not like I was ran over by a mac truck! 

I'll keep you guys updated on everything and I will be back in a day or two with an amazing brand that you are going to love! (At least I really do!)

Have you tried bulletproof coffee yet?