Saturday, February 14, 2015

Week 5 Results and a Motivational Talk


Well, sorry I'm a few days late but I think I will start blogging about my results on Saturdays instead of Mondays! I had a goal to have a perfect week, and though that didn't happen completely, I did much better and can really see that eating healthy and using my containers for my nutrition has become a habit for me! That's the awesome part! I'm not fighting against myself as much because I know that eating healthy and using my portion containers is what I will be doing each day. I do still struggle against myself, though, and find that the evenings and weekends can be especially hard. There are also lots of holidays, special events, holidays, etc. but I once heard that if you count up all of those events it's like over 120 days out of the year! In other words, we will not continue to move much closer to our goals if we let ourselves slip every time there is some kind of special event. In other words, we have to have self-control!

And it can be hard to have self-control in situations where we had previously let ourselves eat whatever we wanted to, in whatever portion sizes we wanted. To go into those situations with renewed focus, set on our goals for ourselves, and not listening to the well-meaning friends and co-workers who are not living out our journey towards our goals, and politely say "no, thank you."

No one can make you reach your dreams. No one can even set your dreams for you. No. You set the bar high. You write them down. You put in the blood, sweat, and tears. And then you get to glory in your results. That's what being a Coach is all about. Helping people to see their potential, to envision what their lives could be like if they set their mind to reach their goals. And that's the beauty of our Challenge groups as well. I am committed to you getting healthy and reaching your goals. You are in a group with others who are doing the same thing. And together you motivate and encourage each other to keep pushing play and saying "no" to the things that pull you away from your goals and "yes" to the things that push you towards them. And when you feel weak and vulnerable, you have that Challenge group to encourage you, give you the words you need, and to keep pushing forward!! Well, those are my tips for the week! And without further ado, here are my current results:

5 pounds lost

Slow and steady wins the race. I am still in this. Still fighting. Still pushing play. I have moved into the Beta round with T25 and am really enjoying the new set of workouts. Yesterday was double day and I got Core Cardio and Upper Focus done. Felt so good!

So if you're in the place in your life where you're ready to make a change, then do it. Set the bar high. Reach out to others who will help you reach your goals. No one can stop you but you. And I am here to help. I am here to Coach you, cheer you on, answer any questions you may have, and to be your encouragement everyday. That's what I do! And I would love to help you reach your goals!! Envision yourself reaching them, and that's a great place to start!
And as always, I am here to help. If you want to get started on your health and fitness journey, I'd love to be there for you! Fill out this form to get started, and I will get in contact with you!
https://steph4given.wufoo.com/forms/z1vf6znx03uidy5/

Friday, February 13, 2015

Green Chili Stew


I haven't been using my slow-cooker as much as I'd like, and the other day I just wanted to throw something in for dinner to make my evening easier. I wanted to find a recipe that used stuff I already had, and I knew I wanted to use some ground turkey, since I had it thawing in the fridge. So, I pulled out my trusty "Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook: Feasting with your Slow Cooker" and was perusing it to find something that would fit the bill. I came across this Green Chili Stew, and seeing that I had all the ingredients, decided to make it!

The recipe actually calls for ground sirloin and ground pork, but I swapped in the ground turkey. I actually didn't even see that it called for the pork, and though it would have made it even tastier, I didn't have any on hand. And let me tell you, it was just fine with the ground turkey! Usually, slow cooker recipes aren't always the best tasting recipes. Easy? Yes. Time-saving? Yes. Makes the evening less chaotic? Yes. But often the slow cooker meals are just missing something. They just aren't as tasty as the regular home-cooked meal. So I wasn't expecting much from this recipe.

But oh my, was I wrong about how this would taste! It was so good, and even my kids were scarfing it down like they hadn't eaten all day! I LOVE recipes like those! To feed all 5 of us is one thing, but to find something that we all love and want more of? Score! So, I can't wait to share this recipe with you! I will give you the exact recipe out of the cookbook, and then tell you my variations and suggestions!

Green Chili Stew
Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook
Jeanne Allen

3 Tbsp. oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large onion, diced
1 lb. ground sirloin
1/2 lb. ground pork
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
2 4-oz. cans diced green chilies
4 large potatoes, diced
10-oz. pkg. frozen corn
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. crushed dried oregano
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt

1. Brown onion, garlic, sirloin, and pork in oil in skillet. Cook until meat is no longer pink.
2. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.
3. Cover. Cook on Low 4-6 hours, or until potatoes are soft.

Note: Excellent served with warm tortillas or corn bread.

This is the exact recipe. Now I'll tell you how I made it!

I did not have sirloin or pork, so I used ground turkey and it was delicious. I peeled the potatoes before I diced them, and I cooked it on high for about 6 hours. I have found that if I am cooking potatoes in a slow cooker, they have a hard time getting done unless they are on high for awhile. I used homemade chicken broth that I made from the bones of a whole chicken, so I'm sure that added some yummy flavor. I debated about putting black beans in, but I didn't. We served them up with corn tortillas that we fried in a pan for a couple minutes on each side. The kids were begging for more and I couldn't fry those tortillas fast enough! It also made enough that we had it another night for dinner this week!

You should definitely try this recipe soon! So simple and so tasty!

Monday, February 2, 2015

Week 4 Results and My Perfect Week


Well, honestly, last week kind of killed me! My hormones were in full swing and I used that as an excuse, to my shame. But I don't want to dwell on
the past! That's what can get me down, and I'm just going to keep moving forward! But also, my weight fluctuates so much throughout the week, and that is normal as well. I had actually hit the 5 pound weight loss goal last week, but it has gone up some since then. I am still at a loss of about 2.5 pounds, and the Superbowl party we went to last night didn't help! But my goal for this week is to have a perfect week! To stop making excuses and to plan for all my containers to be used each day. The containers are from the 21 Day Fix and it tells me how many of each container to eat each day.
So to catch some people up on what I do each day, I am doing T25 for my workouts, which has Shaun T as the trainer. I go through 5 weeks of the Alpha round, and I am in my fifth week this week. Then, I move on to the Beta round for 5 weeks. I am thinking about doing the 21 Day fix after that (meaning the workouts along with the nutrition portion) and then moving onto the new 21 Day Fix Extreme after that! It comes out today, and I'm really excited to get it here in a few weeks!
So, for each day, this is what the 21 Day Fix allows me to eat:

4 Green containers (vegetables)
3 Purple containers (fruit)
4 Red containers (protein, and Shakeology counts as one red container)
1 Orange container (Nuts, seeds, Fix dressings)
1 Blue container (Healthy Fats)
4 teaspoons (nut butters, oils to cook with)

So, as you can see, the 21 Day Fix eating is clean eating. No processed foods, no sugar, no junk. But they do allow for 3 "cheat" drinks each week and 3 "cheat" snacks each week. So you can have wine or almond milk or juice for cheat drinks and chocolate chips or chocolate covered raisins or other things for your cheat snacks. It tells you all about it in the guide! I love that it allows for cheats and doesn't expect you to be completely perfect for 3 weeks! It is so effective that most people who do it just continue rounds of it because they love how it's simple, it's effective, and you don't have to count calories!!
So this week, I am committing to a perfect week. Hopefully, no cheats, except for what the Fix allows me. We even have pizza day tomorrow at our homeschool co-op, but I am going to have what the Fix allows me to have for pizza, and leave it at that. I don't need 3 pieces!
So stay tuned for next week's results and see if I stuck to a perfect week!

And as always, message me for help with your health and fitness. I have my next Fitness Challenge group starting on Monday, February 23! I would love to help you get started on your Fitness journey! Also, check out my page on Facebook, Steph's Healthy Journey!! Click Like and Get Notifications to see me in your news feed! I feature healthy recipes, motivation, and keep you in the loop about special promotions, new workout programs, and how I can help you!!
If you want to take the next step and contact me, then fill out my form here and I will get in contact with you and talk about how you can start your Fitness Journey with me at your side, cheering you on, and with other people keeping you accountable in one of my Challenge groups!