Body for Life

About a week and a half ago Mike and I decided to start eating better. This is not a new thing for us. We are typically mindful of how we eat. But now that I have the all clear to exercise again AND Levi is sleeping more (so I am sleeping more) Mike and I both want to get back into shape. Oh yeah, and we want to get in shape because it is bathing suit season too.

Body for Life is a book full of recipes that are healthy. The concept for this recipe book is that you should always have a protein with a complex carb. There are no off limits foods on this regiment (this isn't a diet because it is supposed to be a way to change how you eat without limiting what or how much you eat). Basically, the book touts moderation and combining the right amount of fat, carbs, and protein at each meal. The book also calls for eating 6 meals a day.

So far Mike and I have lost 3 lbs. I have been walking/running 2.5 miles about 3 times a week since we started eating better. I am really pleased that I have already lost 3 lbs. I really want to get back in shape and lose the baby weight and fit into my clothes again.

One fantastic side effect of this eating better is that I am cooking a lot more and trying out new recipes. I am not known for my cooking and this experience is helping me to build some confidence in the kitchen. Of course having a lot of free time makes all this possible.

It takes a lot of preparation to eat healthy. First I had to figure out what is healthy. That seems like a no brainer but in fact it is harder than it seems. Basically with this way of eating we are eating fresh foods most of the time. It is great to cut out the processed crap that we'd been eating non-stop before. Now we aren't going raw or anything over here. We still eat processed foods such as cheese, bread, etc. But no more chips, granola bars, prepackaged peanut butter crackers, etc.

So back to preparation. Once I figured out what was healthy then I had to find out where to buy it, again not so easy. I had to go to 3 different stores to get everything I needed to eat healthy non processed foods. Costco for meats, Kroger for produce, and Walmart for everything else. Yeah, see why having a lot of free time is necessary? Once I got all the healthy stuff home I wasn't done. Then I had to wash and cut all the produce and cut and bag the meats into the correct portions. Whew. And I haven't even started cooking yet!

So some of my prouder recipes include: healthy turkey burgers (and they taste really good!), turkey bacon and broccoli quiche (again very tasty and healthy, score!), healthy chicken parmesan, and healthy tuna noodle casserole. It is wonderful to eat our favorite foods guilt free! All the above recipes make large portion sizes and are 500 calories or less per portion.

The other great thing about this way of eating is that I get to eat all day (which I have to do or I am crazy mean from low blood sugar). And again the snacks are all things I like eating; fruits, cheeses, lunch meats, protein shakes, peanut butter, veggies, etc. 

So with any luck I will look like this again very very soon...