Merry Christmas + some new healthy eats!

Like I mentioned in my last blog post, the holidays have been insane! The good part at least is that I am pretty much finished with Christmas shopping.

Besides decorating and shopping for Christmas, I also recently received some healthy bars in the mail from Thunderbird Bar. I was so excited to try these out for myself!

These bars are dairy free, grain free, soy free, sugar free, gluten free, vegan, paleo certified & Non-GMO. Perfect for my diet! I requested the Fruit & Nut to try, but they also carry Nut & Seed bars.

I love that these bars are all whole food ingredients- fruits, nuts, seeds and spices, nothing else added!! All of the bars were amazing, but my favorite bar was the hazelnut + coffee- of course! I love how these are chewy instead of crunchy bars; so much less messy to eat when I'm out and about. These would be perfect for before or after a workout or for hiking, especially with the added protein.

To see more flavors, you can also check out their online shop. I am looking forward to trying the nut & seed bars next time!

What type of healthy snacks do you like?

Disclaimer: I was not financially compensated for this post. I received a sample for review purposes. These opinions are entirely my own, based on my personal experience.  

Enjoy this Healthy Chocolate without the Guilt!!

So I recently was in contact with the nice people over at ChoNanga about reviewing some of their chocolate products & they sent me one of everything! Let's be honest, I'm not about to turn down chocolate, especially gourmet chocolate!

I really love how all of the chocolates have added benefits such as peppermint, maca, hempseeds, turmeric, matcha green tea, bee pollen & more! It made me feel so much less guilty about enjoying chocolate! My favorite was the Energy & Vitality but they were all so amazing that I would probably just order the sampler pack so that I can enjoy them all again!



I love supporting companies like ChoNanga because all of their ingredients are free of gluten, soy and GMO's. They use organic and fair trade ingredients whenever possible. When you purchase ChoNanga chocolate, you are also helping farmers get better prices, educating children in rural communities & keeping pesticides out of the environment. In addition, they pledge 2% of their profits to organizations that support a healthier planet, such as the Sacred Valley Project, which provides boarding and education to low income young women in rural Peru.

To grab some of these amazing chocolates for yourself (or as a stocking stuffer for your loved ones), you can check out their online shop here. Their prices are very reasonable too! Let me know if you try some and which is your favorite!

Disclaimer: I was not financially compensated for this post. I received a sample for review purposes. These opinions are entirely my own, based on my personal experience.  

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?

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?

Shaping up for the Summer + a Review

Lately, we have been enjoying the summer and going swimming at my brother's pool a few times per week. I have been taking advantage of the pool so that I can exercise and I have also been doing my HIIT workouts and speed walking. For some reason, it's been really difficult for me getting back in shape this time, so I ordered some Chromium Picolinate from iHerb today, and I'm hoping that it helps boost my metabolism and work some magic. Getting in shape is a daily commitment and it's definitely not for the lazy!

I have been eating really healthy since we got back from our week-long cruise. All gluten free, no breads and I have cut way back on sugar. Recently, I received these healthy heart bars from Rawxies to review. I was definitely in need of some healthy snacks and detoxing after all of the heavy foods from my cruise. 

I love the fact that rawxies are gluten free, soy free and dairy free; especially since I have allergies to all three. These heart bars were very filling and the perfect snack! My favorite two were obviously the chocolate chip cookie dough and chocolate brownie- yum! They also carry other great flavors such as mint chocolate chip and cranberry pecan.

If you are looking for a healthy snack these are perfect for before or after your workout. You can find them online at Amazon Prime, Lucky Vitamin, Vita-Cost, Abe's Market or The Gluten-Free Mall. You can also check their locations map online and find them in a store as well.

What's your favorite healthy snack?