I Can If I Want

My last post "My Relationship with Food" was about my freedom from food. My plan is to stop eliminating almost all food groups and to start incorporating foods back into my eating habits that I haven't eaten in YEARS to see how my body reacts.

No more diets, just me eating healthy food choices 
and enjoying occasional treats without guilt
http://freedombeautyhappiness.com/222/

Since it has only been a few days since my mind shift and eating habits happened I know it will take longer to really see how things are progressing for me, but a lot has already changed and I wanted to update everyone.  After that blog post, I gave myself permission to eat. To live my life and enjoy. To not stress over every single food option. To not panic at the thought of eating out. To not freak out if I ate too much. To not listen to everyone else tell me what I should or should not be eating. I went to bed that night with those last thoughts. I woke up Saturday morning and the only word I could use to describe my feeling in that moment is FREEDOM. I was free; from myself, judgment, criticism, fear of failure, stress of eating, and the feeling of lacking.

For a brief moment this is exactly how I felt,
but then I remembered it's not just weight loss, but my health

I also decided that to keep myself still in check a little, I would start tracking again on myfitnesspal. So I made my goal any where between 1200-1300 calories and I added carbs back into my calculations. I had a delicious breakfast and then went off shopping. I felt giddy almost at this fresh start. Later that day at my parent's house I enjoyed some yummy food...nope I didn't everything in site but I did enjoy every piece that went into my mouth and enjoyed having energy to run around outside and play with my nieces, it was finally a nice spring day outside.

I had energy!
First time in a long time I wasn't being Aunt Cin, the lump on the couch taking a nap
I can't wait for more days like this

Sunday was brunch in the morning with a girlfriend of mine, we try to meet once a month to always keep updated and just laugh like school girls. There I was with the menu in my hands, thinking well I gave myself permission, I can eat anything on this menu I want. Drum roll....what did I get......2 eggs overeasy with a side of veggies and some bacon. I didn't feel deprived at all. It was so yummy and I picked it because that is what I wanted and I knew I would feel good after eating it.

Sunday afternoon I ended up spending the day with the man in my life and his 9 year old son. The time flew!! I didn't even realize how long it had been since I last ate anything because we were running around having a blast. Then, it happened, as I was running around with the 9 year old, his dad said I ordered a pizza for dinner should be here in 45 minutes.  Ummm, ut oh. I haven't had pizza in over 2 years. It was a forbidden food. Should I ask him to call back and order me a salad with dressing on the side by only oil and vinegar because who knows what is in the other dressings? Should I just say I am not hungry and starve? Those thoughts quickly went through my mind as if I was programmed to think like that. Then they went away, I felt an instant calm and thought just enjoy it. Have a slice of pizza, not the entire pie, but a slice. Not every day, but tonight is okay. The pizza arrived. I may have actually been drooling at the smell of it. He ordered a Hawaiian pizza (his son's favorite). There I was pizza to lips, I could hear my mom saying, don't do it. I could hear years of my own training saying are you CRAZY women it's PIZZA!  I did it, I took a bite of the pizza and smiled. I looked over to the 9 year old who said isn't it delicious with a huge smile on his face and I couldn't have agreed more. I had 2 slices of pizza and appreciated and loved every bite of it. I was stuffed for the rest of the night and slept better than I have in ages. I know the pizza didn't cause me to sleep better, but I didn't feel bad or stressed or deprived at all. I felt good, I had an amazing wonderful day that included pizza.

Shout out to my blog friend Gwen who writes The Sunny Coconut . She recently wrote a post called S Foods; it was about how everyone's body reacts different to different foods. I highly recommend checking it out, I enjoyed reading it and completely agree!!  I know I will never be able to eat a couple of chips and put the bag away, but I can eat a piece of chocolate and be satisfied. What are your trigger foods that you avoid?

On a Quest for Protein

One of the biggest things I have come realize is the large role food plays in our daily lives. I don't just mean because it tastes good or stops your stomach from grumbling during a meeting. I have noticed how certain foods make me feel. Some fuel me for a workout while others make me want to take a nap. Finding the right food for me to eat before working out has become a large part of my journey. I have discovered some really good food options, check out my chicken in a can blog post for that delicious option, I absolutely love eating that on just my cardio days. On days when I train with Mark I am really pushing myself and started feeling like I need a little something extra. I asked around the gym and found a lot of people drink protein shakes or eat protein bars. The next time I was good shopping I checked some labels and was bummed. A lot of them are FULL of carbohydrates, high calories, made with soy, gluten, tons of sugar, and not what I wanted. There goes that idea I thought, until one day on twitter someone mentioned QuestBars. I decided to check them out and was very pleasantly surprised.

My favorite flavor of QuestBar
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

The QuestBars weren't full of sugar at all, low in calories, gluten free, low in carbs, not full of so many crazy ingredients that I can't even pronounce. I was excited, but thought how good could these taste. I found out they sell them at the GNC down the street and off I went. I picked up a bunch of different flavors like, chocolate chip cookie dough, cookies and cream, white chocolate raspberry, and apple pie. These are just a few of the flavors they offer. The next day before my workout with Mark I ate the chocolate chip cookie dough bar. I loved that I was able to eat it in the car on the way to the gym, my meeting ran late and I wouldn't have had time to sit down with a fork and eat anything else.  So how did it taste you ask?  DELICIOUS!!!!  I loved it. Perfect texture, perfect flavor, didn't leave a weird after taste or leave me craving for more sugar or bad stuff.  Now the big question...how did it hold up against a Mark workout? PERFECT!  I was well fueled throughout the workout and even earned the nickname tiny beast.  I now have a bar before every workout.

There are so many different delicious flavors for you to choose from
Trust me you won't get bored!

I tried most of the other flavors and have to say the chocolate chip cookie dough and cookies and cream bars are my favorite. I buy them by the box at GNC. I have also used them as a dessert substitute. There aren't many desserts I can enjoy these days without feeling yucky after or guilty. One night after having dinner with my family I felt a little blah because I wanted the dessert, but knew I would regret it. I remembered I had a bar stashed in my purse so I took it out and got to enjoy dessert with everyone else without feeling guilty. I wouldn't recommend doing that all the time as the bars are high in protein, but for the occasional treat with friends and family I say indulge and have fun.

The box description talked me into giving them a try
so very glad I did

For more information about the Quest bars and ingredients check out the Quest website at http://www.questnutrition.com/ingredients/

Disclaimer:  I am in no way affiliated with Quest. I just love their product and wanted to share my new favorite find!!

Mission Accomplished..for the Week

What a week! You know those weeks where you aren't sure if you are coming or going? Yeah that was my week. It actually started last Saturday when I had my friend's bridal shower. Thanks to shopping in my mom's closet I had a cute outfit to wear and I was armed with cheese sticks in my purse, just in case there was nothing for me to eat. What, not everyone keeps cheese sticks in their purse? Haha. The party was a good time.  I can also say for the first time, I was toilet papered. Yup you read that correctly...I was nominated to be the model for a toilet paper wedding dress. It was definitely a funny moment!! As it turned out I needed my cheese sticks. There was nothing there I could eat and I was starving.  I can't wait for the wedding and  don't worry I will stash some cheese sticks in my purse for that too. Mission Bridal Shower: Accomplished!

Getting my toilet paper wedding dress

Next up..my work convention. We left early Sunday morning and thanks to a marathon and road closures I got to my first meeting 15 minutes late. My amazing and wonderful boss was totally great about it and understood, I had called him from the road to warn him. The meeting went well and then I rushed off to lunch. As I mentioned in my previous post Food Food Everywhere my coworker got me cobb salad, it was really good and thankfully filling. I meant to take a picture for this post but it didn't last long as I had to rush out to education sessions. Need a nap yet...I did! Dinner time was my favorite, we went to a restaurant in the hotel where I got to order Rib Eye steak with side veggies and shared shrimp with my coworker...recharged and feeling good for the evening events, which included our dessert reception. Cupcakes, pastries, ice cream, chocolate everywhere!! Being tired and in the room with that deliciousness was not easy, but thanks to my filling dinner and feeling good I didn't even take a taste.

Yup, it tasted as good as it looks

Dessert reception...
good thing sugar can't jump through my camera or I would be in trouble 

The next night was our big event, the Awards Banquet. As I was getting dressed I thought back to previous years, and usually by this time I felt run down, miserable, and wasn't overly thrilled with my outfit thanks to my efforts to try and cover up as much as possible. Not this year...this year I found an outfit that I absolutely loved and loved wearing it. As I got up in front of crowds and walked around to help people, I truly felt confident and was so thankful I changed my eating habits these last few months. It made that moment so much better!

Every girl should add a little sparkle sometimes
The night was so much fun, I even got up and danced a little (sorry no pics of dancing)

I knew every morning I would only have the option of muffins, bagels, and pancakes...that just wasn't going to work for me. I needed more than cheese sticks in my purse for this. So this time, I packed hard boiled eggs, salad, olive oil, and some shredded chicken to keep in my room. I used a few ice packs to keep the food from spoiling, and it worked they stayed perfect before I could get them into my hotel room fridge. Now I got to start every morning armed and ready to conquer the day and feel good about it.

Not what most people pack to eat away,
but this helped me start my day off right.
I was full until lunch and had tons of energy

The next few days were similar to this one. Run around, food all over, me being happy my pants fit and I had the energy to keep up, amazing how much a year can change. Last year I was eating anything and everything, worst part was I could barely keep up and felt awful the whole time. Not one dessert or bad food passed my lips this entire trip! Mission Work Convention: Accomplished!

Next up:  Italian Festival with my family tonight....

Food Food...Everywhere!

Coming up is my big work convention. We spend so much time preparing and getting ready. Making sure everything runs smoothly, how the Events Director pulls everything together is really amazing. It's a really wonderful event to be part of, but also really exhausting!!

Silly girls...it's not time to pack yet!

We get up early and go to bed late. We, the staff, are pretty much all over the place making sure things run smoothly and every one of our guests are happy. In addition, this year I am really excited, because I was asked to take photos for my company. The convention not only has really wonderful education sessions, speakers, and classed, but it also has amazing delicious food! We start with a big lunch that includes sandwiches, soups, and lots of pastries. That's nothing compared to the dessert reception where you will find a chocolate fountain, cupcakes, pastries, cookies, you name it!! The following night our big dinner banquet includes Caesar salad, pasta dish, entree, and of course dessert. I'm stuffed thinking about it. 

Anyone want dessert? 

With the convention dates creeping closer I was really starting to worry. What would I eat? Last year was when I started noticing I was getting sick eating high carb and sugary meals/dessert. So it's not even that I don't WANT to eat all of that, but I really CAN'T! I know if I eat any of that I will be so sick and being sick is not fun any time, but especially at a huge work event...yikes! Turns out my amazing coworker had my back. She ordered me a Cobb salad for my lunch full of everything that I can eat and enjoy. For dinner I will have a house salad with oil and vinegar, steak and shrimp, and by then I will be so stuffed I won't need dessert. I am also planning on stashing some snacks in my purse just in case. Thanks to my coworkers taking care of me I can spend more time focused on work and enjoying the convention and less time on what my next meal might me.

Saw this on Pinterest and had to agree
Being healthy is hard work and more than just weight loss

Freedom Cups!

Happy 4th of July! A day to celebrate freedom and be thankful for it. Time for picnics, parties, fireworks, and fun. For those of us trying to not gain a ton of weight and trying to eat healthy these parties are more about what should I eat, what can I eat, should I be good or just say oh well for a day.  Sort of takes some of the fun out it. I say bring something you and everyone else can enjoy and make it one less decision you have to make; and it will keep you on track with your healthy goals! Let's talk dessert. My family loves dessert, it's what I struggle with at most birthday parties and gatherings. Not this time, this time I had an idea. I want to enjoy with everyone, so I came up with Freedom Cups.

Freedom Cups
Be Healthy and Enjoy!!

I found some wine glasses that had blue stems and were the perfect size, but you can easily find cups at your local store. Figuring out what went in them was easy, what is healthy and delicious and red, white, and blue...strawberries, cool whip, and blueberries! Works perfectly with my blueberry obsession.

Ingredients:

Blueberries

Strawberries

Cool Whip

Reddi Whip 

Cherries

Sprinkles

My Helpers
Ashley and Kaitlyn

I enlisted assistance from two of the best and cutest helpers I know...my nieces Ashley and Kaitlyn. My first step was cutting the stems off the strawberries. Then it was time to cut just the right size to fit in the cups. I decided to cut mine in half and then to cut the halves in half. Making the pieces large enough to still enjoy the taste but small enough to fit a bunch in the glass. Once I cute up all the strawberries I did a layer in each glass. You can decide how thick you want each layer. After the strawberries I did a layer of Cool Whip Lite. I recommend using a large spoon to scoop but a small spoon, even a kids spoon, to help layer it in the glass so you don't get too much on the sides of the cup.

How I cut up my strawberries and layered the Cool Whip Lite
Feel free to cut yours to how you like it and add as much or as little Cool Whip

 Next up blueberries! I did a layer of blueberries followed by another layer of Cool Whip and then strawberries. I topped it off with some Reddi Whip to get the neat spiral look and decorated with blueberries and strawberries on top.Tada!  Instant delicious dessert that is healthy and everyone can enjoy!

The different stages of layering fruit, Cool Whip, and Reddi Whip

My nieces had a blast helping me and got even more excited when I told them they could make their own! Ashley modeled hers after mine but added in cherries.  Kaitlyn is not a big fan of blueberries, I happily ate hers, so she used just strawberries, cherries and added some sprinkles for fun!

Ashley and Kaitlyn busy creating their delicious dessert
Picture to the right is Kaitlyn's Creation

Ashley couldn't wait to eat her dessert

I hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th of July, spending more time celebrating and having fun and less time worrying about what to eat.

Me and my sister Elyse enjoying our Freedom Cups!