Livin in the Now, Looking Forward to the POW!

Earlier this month, my family lost our grandfather to liver cancer.  It was a fast and unfortunate tragedy, but one that brought my family closer together and closer to God.  I love my family immensely and until this, we have been so fortunate not to have any other major fatalities or illnesses.  Each time I went to the doctor when I was younger, I considered myself very blessed and lucky to have impeccable genetics, not having to check any of the boxes under "family illnesses" on the background questionaire.  Going to see my grandfather suffer from such a widespread and ever increasing illness made me realize one thing - nobody is exempt from disease, no matter how "perfect" your genetics are.  We all have the right to live long, healthy lives...and setting health goals puts us on the path to exude the happiness ensued from living a healthy lifestyle.  Goals concerning health can be tricky and hard to make, focusing only on how much you want to weigh or putting up a picture of someone who has a totally different body type than yourself and saying "this is what I want to look like".  These goals often leave us feeling depressed, hungry, and usually less healthy than when we started. So here are a few tips in setting health goals that will actually strengthen you, motivate you, and sustain you!

While our goals need to be motivating, they need to be realistic.  Goals like "losing 10 pounds in a month" may be motivating, but may not necessarily be realistic.  So what are realistic goals?  Think of things you have control over every day.  Start with those simple things.  Can you go for a walk or run for 15 minutes in the morning?  Can you park a little farther away from the grocery store and maybe carry in an extra bag when you take the groceries inside?    Setting goals where you can track your progress and see results will not only motivate you to keep going, but will help you realize the power you hold in setting and achieving goals.  As you set these small, daily goals, these decisions and actions will transform into habits.  Before you know it, it will not even require mental effort or strain to do this, but will be a part of who you are and feel natural, easy, and even fun.

Health goals should constantly be reevaluated and changing.  A few months ago, I set a big goal to lose 10 pounds.  In order to achieve this goal, I started with small goals that put me on that path.  For me, I knew diet was my biggest fall-back.  So I set a goal to just simply record everything I ate each day.  I didn't set a goal to change my diet, because I wasn't ready for that, and I didn't necessarily know what needed to be changed.  As I just recorded what I ate, it made me realize a lot of my weaknesses and gave me the mental preparation to change.  Each week, or couple of weeks, I have reevaluated what I was doing and how that was working to get me to my larger goal.   After recording everything I ate for two weeks, I then planned my meals - everything I was going to eat - for the next week.  I planned 5 meals a day, with extra healthy "snacks" in case I got hungry.  Knowing when I would eat and what I would eat put my body at ease and helped me not to binge eat...ever.  It was incredible.  I allowed myself one cheat meal in the week as well.  I continued to do this for a few more weeks until binge eating was no longer a habit, and my body relied on those healthy, sustainable meals.  Since then, I have not had to plan every meal of every day, but have a rough idea of what I will eat each day.  Since our bodies and fitness levels are constantly changing, so should our goals be changing constantly as well.

In addition, we should always focus on positive things when setting health goals - what you want to eat every day, instead what you cannot eat.  Set goals of how many servings of vegetables you want to eat every day, instead of saying "I can't eat chocolate this week".  If eating sweets is where your weak spot is, set a goal to eat a serving of vegetables, or drink a glass of water before you eat those sweets.  You may find your appetite decreases and you do not have as great of a desire to indulge as much as you normally would!  This can serve as a stepping stone to that healthier, fitter you.

The way to a healthy lifestyle is not an overnight change, nor is it something that you do only for a month, or 100 days.  It is a series of small changes added up to make up your lifestyle and destiny.  Setting motivating and realistic goals, constantly revising and changing those goals, and focusing on the positives will allow you to change into the person and see the results you may have never thought possible.  As Shawn Achor  says in his book The Happiness Advantage, "Happiness is not the belief that we don't need to change; it's the realization that we can."  

**Disclaimer!!  Sorry I haven't written in a couple weeks...I GOT A PUPPY!!  It was a lot more work than I thought and I haven't had time for much else.  I pretty much have down a good schedule for him though, so I should be able to find some more time to write! 

Do You Like Green Eggs & Ham?

I am S.A.M...Sustainable, Attainable, Maintainable :) 
I am S.A.M.

S.A.M. I am!

>>That S.A.M. I am, that S.A.M. I am!
>>I want to be that S.A.M. I am!

>>I do!  I like them!  
>>Sustainable, Attainable, Maintainable I am :) 

Green Eggs and "Ham"

• 1 cup Spinach/kale 
• 1 whole egg
• 1/2 cup liquid egg whites

      >>Blend ingredients in a blender and set aside. 

• Ham, turkey, or some other meat (I actually used turkey!) 
• Cauliflower (I process mine til it is small and looks almost like rice.  I'm not a huge fan of cauliflower but I don't even notice it!) 
• Mushrooms
• Peppers
• Any other veggies you like! You can get as creative as you want :) 

    >> Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil, safflower oil, or some other vegetable oil in a frying pan. When hot, add vegetables and meat.  Cook for a few minutes until softened and starting to brown.  

   >>Pour in the egg w/spinach and kale.  Stir with spatula until cooked and eggs are no longer liquid!  

• 1/4 c low-fat cottage cheese

   >>For added protein and creaminess, you can add the cottage cheese.  Add just before the eggs are done and cook it in with the eggs.  Top with Pepper.  (No need for added salt!  There is salt in everything else we eat!  Especially if you top with salsa.) 

Sustainable, Attainable, Maintainable you are! 

These tasted amazing!  I tried blending up the greens because when I just cook them in my eggs, they are kind of stringy and have a not-so-appetizing texture.  Blended up I don't even notice they're in there!  And they turn green...HOW COOL IS THAT!?

Chorizo Egg Burrito

My husband found this little gem at Safeway the other day. Soy Chorizo sausage!  It makes super tasty eggs without even having to use an egg yolk, lowering the fat content even more.

In order to sustain and maintain a healthy lifestyle, I love finding healthier alternatives to foods and meals I already love. My husband and I ate at this little French Cafe by our house and ordered some real Chorizo eggs...oh my they were delicious!  When he found the soy version (for only 89 cents too!) He had to get some! Not only was it a healthy alternative, but a cheaper one too!!

You can use this gem in so many different ways...here's how I used it this morning.

Chorizo Egg Burrito

3/4 C Liquid Egg Whites (organic from Costco)
2 oz Chorizo Soy Sausage
2 C Spinach

Cook in a large skillet and serve in any whole wheat tortilla.

(Be careful when buying wheat that it says whole wheat. When it just says "wheat" it is still refined and a lot of the protein, fiber, and vitamins have been removed).

Nutrition Facts (without tortilla)

Fat: 4 g
Carbs: 7.2 g
  Fiber: 3.3 g
Protein: 26 g
Vitamin A: 122 %

Holy smokes. Talk about simplicity! I'm pretty sure it took me less than 10 minutes to make. Even less time to devour down all the tastiness!

http://mobile.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/cacique/soy-chorizo?showFacts=True

Pumpkin Protein Bars

Instead of spending tons of money on protein bars, I experimented with making my own!  You can eat these in the morning for breakfast, as a midday meal, or a pre-workout meal.  I even eat these protein-filled little treats as a dessert :)

Protein Pumpkin Spice Cake

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 scoops vanilla whey protein
• 2 tsp cinnamon (or more!)
• A pinch of nutmeg
• A pinch of allspice
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

• 4 egg whites
• 1/2 c honey, or other sweetener
• 1/2 c canned pumpkin
• 1/4 c water

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.  Mix wet ingredients in a bowl.  Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients.  Add walnuts or pecans if desired.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-30 minutes.  *For a moist cake, cover immediately with foil after taking it out of the oven.  It will contain all the moisture.  

Nutrition Facts for 1 Bar without nuts: 

Inspired by Jamie Eason's Carrot Protein Bars.

Prevent Muscle Breakdown with a Protein-filled Breakfast!

Wanna lost fat?? Maintain your muscle! Amino acids (AA's) are the essential building blocks for the muscles. After fasting for 8+ hours, you need to replenish your amino acids or your body will go straight for your muscles to get the AA's it needs for energy.

Here's an idea for a yummy breakfast or midday snack with over 15 grams of protein and 7 grams of fiber. The Nutrition Facts posted include a medium sized Fuji apple.

Almond Butter Apple Dip

1/2 Cup Fage 0% Total Plain Greek Yogurt
1Tbsp Almond Butter
Cinnamon to your liking
1 apple

Enjoy :)

You can add bit of honey or other sweetener if you need, but the sweetness of the apple should be enough!
Do you have any other delicious, sustainable dips you like?? Please post!!

My Purpose in Blogging

My husband and I just sat at our kitchen table for 15 minutes shouting out random words that rhymed in order to create a title for my blog.  This is what we came up with - Sustainable, Attainable, Maintainable Health (SAM).  Despite our laughter and spurts of turrets, each of these "-ables" were chosen for a specific reason - to share my goals, progress, and journey in attaining and maintaining a sustainable healthy lifestyle and helping you on that road too.

In setting my own health and fitness goals, I wanted something that would last.  I didn't want to get to my ideal physique, only to have it ruined a month later, then battling again to get it back.  I don't think weight or physique should be a continual struggle in which we are constantly at battle with ourselves.  Synonyms found for sustainable are "endurable, comfortable, cozy, livable, satisfactory, etc.".  In order to attain and maintain my ideal physique, I realized that it must be all of those things.

The number one rule in achieving greatness is visualization.  Rarely do people ever succeed unless they first visualize.  This is the first step in reaching your optimal health - seeing yourself already there and knowing you can attain it.    Make your goals easily seen every day.  Write them on a white board, hang up a picture, or look in the mirror and visualize the better you.  You must have complete confidence that your goals are attainable.

My husband is pretty confident that I have ADD (he was diagnosed and has done loads of research on it) and I'm pretty sure this manifests itself in what I eat and how I exercise.  I am constantly coming up with new ways to cook things or adding/changing ingredients in our meals.  I love discovering new workouts and exercises.  This keeps my healthy lifestyle fresh, fun, and full of exciting adventures...in other words, maintainable.  I will be sharing tips and tricks of this maintainable healthy lifestyle and how to keep it from getting boring and time-consuming.

“If we are creating ourselves all the time, then it is never too late to begin creating the bodies we want instead of the ones we mistakenly assume we are stuck with," (Deepak Chopra).  Visualize your ideal, make goals to get there, and start today.  Sustainable, Attainable, Maintainable health....here I come!!