Today is the last day of my 45 day "diet", "cleanse" thing that I'm doing. I started doing this because of all of the weight that I put on in South America. I don't actually know how much it was, but I could see it in my body. Blah! While you're traveling, it is so hard to watch what you eat because you want to get the whole "experience"...or whatever. Plus, I wasn't riding my bike like I always do at home. SO anyway! Tomorrow I can introduce more fats and more veggies! My feelings towards this? So mixed. I want to keep going because I have lost 25 pounds already, however I'm so anxious to be able to eat eggs and cheese and salmon and eggplant, and all of these yummy things! (AND I'm excited to be able to crack open a bottle of red and just relaaaaaax!)
Through this cleanse, as I like to call it (because I hate the idea of "dieting", especially with how America is with dieting), I have found myself with huge amounts of energy! Giving up starchy foods has been amazing on my sense of clarity and ability to stay awake all day long, without feeling worn out. Additionally. cutting out sugar has been greatly beneficial to this state of mind! Once you just knock it out for a while, you really realize how much it wears you down and puts on those pounds, fast! AND my skin has been pretty amazing through all of this as well. Its pretty crazy how simplifying your diet can work wonders on your body and overall health.
All of this leads me to thinking of ways that I can keep all of this weight off, and lose more. It's an addiction, I gotta say! And here I go with another list (I love lists!) of rules to live by when trying to stay healthy and keep unwanted pounds off!
- Gluten-free! I plan to try to stick to the no-wheat diet because I feel like my allergies aren't nearly as bad when I'm gluten free. This also includes beer, obviously. I am such a microbrewery freak, and with my constantly dad brewing beer, and visits to my sister in Oregon (micro brew capital!), it's so difficult to say no to that delicious chocolate stout. Aside from allergies, I think this is the underlying issue for a lot of people's weight gain... I just don't think that we are all cut out to process gluten.
- Less Dairy. This one is a hard one for me and I think it actually has a lot do to with my allergic reactions as well. My sister has recently discovered that this is why she gets eczema type rashes, so I think it might be a reason why I break out too! Cheese is my weakness, though. I can't live without it. This was one of the reasons why I was anxious to get back to the states,... because of the extra-sharp cheddar! (sigh) But as I say this, I do have to admit that I am well stocked up in the cheese department. My refrigerator right now has a really nice assortment of cheeses such as; feta, Tilamook extra sharp, goat cheese with herbs, Gruyere, Jarlsburg and mozzarella. Sounds like I'm not managing this one too well... uh oh.
- Walk, every single day! This one is a big one for me because I'm such an avid bike-rider, so I usually just hop on my two-wheeler and go where ever I'm headed. I have found that if you just walk for 60 minutes per day though, you get those joints moving and it feels great! Its difficult at first, just because an hour seems like such a long time, but once you make the time for this, you realize that it actually is a really important part of your daily routine. The protocol for this specific diet didn't allow any sort of running because of its impact on the body, but I do hope to start running this upcoming week!
- Avoid Sugars! Especially super complex ones. Stevia is a great substitution, and there are other ways to get your "fix" as well, but for the most part, just stay away!
- Eat Simple, Whole Foods. This rule is one that I've always tried to live by. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store, where you find produce, meat, cheese, etc. Avoid the center because that's where you find all of the processed, packaged food. Make things from scratch, even things like sauces, beans and salad dressing, because this way you know what's actually in it and you avoid consuming all of that corn starch, corn syrupy, gross stuff! Not to mention, it tastes better!!! Also, when you actually read the box of what you are buying, often times things are jam packed with guess what? Sugar! Thus, making us all sluggish and worn out! This includes canned foods and frozen foods. These foods don't have nearly the amount of nutritional value as fresh foods! I know it can be a bit more costly, and more time consuming because we all do know that yes, fresh veggies will go bad, but its totally worth it! Also, shop the bulk section as much as you can! Avoid any extra packaging :)
- Drink Lemon Water in the Morning and at Night. (And Green tea in the am, too!)
- Drink Water!!!!
- Eat Dinner 3 and a half hours before you hit the hay.
- Get some sun, for that precious Vitamin D that your body easily lacks.
- Sleep at least 8 hours per night and try to stick to a regular sleep/eat schedule. I never realized how important it was to have a daily ritual when it comes to sleeping and eating habits until I did this diet. I wouldn't lose the regular weight amount whenever I didn't get enough sleep, which was appalling to me! So sleep well, and eat at regular times throughout the day. (Another thing that's hard when you're traveling, as well as when you're in school)
I will leave you with a simple recipe on making my personal favorite salad dressing, a Balsamic Redux. Good on pretty much any salad, as well as on top of strawberries (with a bit of goat cheese or yogurt, if you wish)... for a tasty, healthy little dessert!
About 1 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
3-5 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Fresh Ground Pepper + Salt to your taste
In a saucepan, heat the vinegar on medium heat until it starts to thicken. Add oil, salt and pepper and there you have it!
3-5 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Fresh Ground Pepper + Salt to your taste
In a saucepan, heat the vinegar on medium heat until it starts to thicken. Add oil, salt and pepper and there you have it!
Easy, simple and delicious... no need to buy dressing at the grocery store, just make your own to the exact way you want them!
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