Thursday, May 23, 2013

Summer!

Hello all! Well I made it through finals and through my X-ray registry- yahooo! Now its time to get summer -started for real :) My mom got a new puppy, her name is Chew-Becca, she keeps me from sleeping in too late so I can get my morning workout in
She also keeps me moving all day! My challenge this summer will be to keep up with good eating and learning to balance that with some fun :) The last few weeks have kinda screwed up my system so I'm going back to no-sweets (except of course my weekend coffee) for awhile to see if I can get back down to goal weight. I'll keep you posted on that.

I have however completed my first competitive 5K race and got 10th in my age group! I also ran 8.21 miles last week, another first! Just trying to keep making goals and then smashing them.

Another goal this summer to help my mom find her own workout routine that is satisfying and effective without taking too much time and leaving her so sore the next day she can't do anything. We're starting it off nice and slow just like I did :)

This weeks dish is Thai Chicken Curry, I made it up in a crockpot and then served it over rice. A total of 8 points with a 1/2 cup of rice. Very delicious and satisfying! Here's the recipe:
Quick Thai Chicken and Vegetable Curry Recipe
Quick Info:
 Servings 4
Nutritional Info (Per serving):
Calories: 252, Saturated Fat: 4g, Sodium: 357mg, Dietary Fiber: 3g, Total Fat: 8g, Carbs: 14g, Cholesterol: 67mg, Protein: 31g Carb Choices: 1 
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 25 mins
Total Time: 45 mins
Ingredients
2 teaspoon oil, canola
1 medium pepper(s), red, bell, cut into 1-to-2 inch long juillienne strips
1 medium onion(s), halved and sliced
1 clove(s) garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ginger, fresh, minced
1 1/2 teaspoon curry paste, red, 1-2 teaspoons, or to taste
1 pounds chicken, breast, boneless, skinless, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 cup(s) broth, chicken, less sodium
1 cup(s) coconut milk, light
1 tablespoon fish sauce, or reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar, brown, light
1 1/2 cup(s) cauliflower, florets
2 cup(s) spinach, baby
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 medium lime(s), cut into wedges
Quick Thai Chicken and Vegetable Curry

Something I'd like to hear from you all about is if you have any experience with exercising post tailbone injury? I did something to mine because for the past few months I can't sit very long without it hurting really bad. I'm trying to not put direct pressure on it but it's hard to do ab exercises without that... So let me know!

Hope you all are doing well in your journeys to My Kind of Healthy! I shall try to post more often as the summer gets underway :)

Friday, April 26, 2013

New Things

Happy Friday everyone!!
 So last weekend I watched a few documentaries on Netflix about dieting and eating clean and all that... It inspired me to 1) look more closely at what's actually in my food and 2) to try going Sweet-free for a week. Sweets are my achilles heel, and also are the least natural, most processed foods currently in my diet so I wanted to see what all would happen if I took them out. BOOM down 2 more pounds, and that's with less exercise than last week but quadruple the results! I also noticed that my belly is flatter and I am fuller.
  Protein, fat, and carbs are all necessary for satiety; so by restricting those I wasn't doing my body any favors and felt more deprived than anything. This week I chose almonds and cottage cheese with applesauce as my snacks, the almonds are much higher in point value but they are so fulfilling and helped me to feel fuller.
 My recommendation, try a week or so like I did and reduce the processed foods, especially sweets in your life :)

Recipes I used this week were: healthy chicken taquitoes, and the healthy hash scramble!
This weekend I have my local Relay for Life so I won't be able to eat very well, but I have packed some healthy snacks like apple slices, carrot sticks, banana pb2 wraps and a subway. I am on the committee as well as being a team captain so I will be there for about 19 hours O.O looonnngggg day! But I will be getting plenty of exercise walking, and it should be a good time, the Survivors lap and Luminaria ceremony always get to me...

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend! I'll check back in with you all later :)

Friday, April 19, 2013

Crazy happenings...

Hello everyone!
First of all I'd like to extend my deepest sympathies to anyone affected by the Boston Marathon bombs and the Texas fertilizer plant explosions. This week has been a dark one for our country and I hope that the particulars can be resolved soon. I would challenge you all to dedicate your runs or other workout to Pray for Boston and share them.
  Well, I finally made it back down to my goal weight yay! It took more effort this time, at least it felt like it, and I think part of that is because I have more muscle and less fat so dropping weight is harder. So to those of you in the same boat just keep at it!!! I also suggest switching it up, sometimes it can help jumpstart the process. Now comes the daunting task of learning to maintain this weight. I think that as long as I keep exercising at least 3x a week and eat wisely, at my point limit rather than below, I should be able to maintain and maybe even lose a little more fairly easily. The real trick will come when I go home for the summer... But I've been charged with the task of helping my mom get into a healthy routine and I'm addicted to exercising, so hopefully it won't be as hard!
  Something that I've always had an issue with is stress/boredom eating... Recently there's been a lot of stress in my life so I really needed to find a healthy way of dealing with this. I started taking walks or running at time s of the day when the cravings are at their worst; this makes me less hungry and feel much happier :) You really are only a run or a workout away from a better mood!
  I've promised my family and friends that I would accept a +/- 4lb mentality and I hope to be able to stick to it. This is to allow for menstruation weight fluxes and the occasional splurge. I suggest everyone coming to the end of their journey develop a similar strategy to make life livable and not a constant weight struggle.
  Recipes I've tried this week:
     -6pt Taco Salad
            1/2 cup fresh spinach
            1 cup romaine lettuce
             cucumber
             1/2 bell pepper
              2 chives
              1 roma tomatoe
            1/2 c 97% lean ground turkey cooked in taco seasoning and salsa
             1/8 c fat free cheddar cheese
             6-8 Baked Tositoes Scoops crumbled over the top
             2 tbps Fat-free Thousand Island dressing


            1pt Banana Bread
              0pt Banana Ice cream!
                  frozen bananas in the blender with unsweetened cocoa and or low-fat peanut butter/ pb2
                      

I'm going to try some Skinny Chicken Taquitos this week, I'll let you all know how it goes :) Other than that I'm just trying to keep up with school and studying for my Radiology Registry exam, only 28 days til I take that...
Keep at it! As always feel free to comment here or message me with questions or if you'd like to share :)

Friday, April 5, 2013

Healthy Chicken Pesto Pizza

I LOVE pesto and chicken pesto pizza used to be a rare treat, not usually a "dieting" item. But after some internet research I've found a delicious and healthy recipe!

Ingredients:
- Weissenbergs pizza crust mix, whole package
- 1/2 cup artichoke hearts in water
-1 medium red bell pepper
-8oz cooked chicken breast, bite size pieces
-1/3 cup low fat pesto sauce
- 1/2 cup low-fat mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees and spray a cookie or pizza sheet with cooking spray.
2. Mix up pizza crust and let set for atleast 5 minutes. In the meantime cook up your chicken and slice the red bell pepper.
3. Roll out the pizza dough into a crust big enough for 8 slices. Evenly spread the pesto sauce over the crust.
4. Spread the chicken, artichoke hearts, and bell pepper over the pesto and top with mozzarella.
5. Cook the pizza for about 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and crust is browned.
6. Slice into 8 servings and enjoy!

Here is the finished product and a view of a single serving:

I thought it was a winner, comment and let me know what you think!

Calories vs. Points

Happy Friday!! It's a beautiful day here in Southern Illinois, finally some Spring/summer weather! Made me kind of sad to be indoors all morning working out, but I sure needed it... This last week and a half, two weeks, I've been experimenting with comparing what I eat in calories vs. points. I downloaded the My Fitness Pal app and have been dutifully logging every morsel I consume, or fairly close to it. My experiment showed that counting points keeps you very close to the suggested calorie limit for weight loss. For example, I was on 16pts a day this last week and I usually kept under 1390 calories, 1400 being my limit, even counting veggies and fruit that are free on Weight Watchers!
I like the idea of counting both when I have the time because it really makes me concentrate on what I'm eating and helps me keep my fruits to a reasonable limit. My Fitness Pal makes it easy to log food, exercise and water intakes! If you're having trouble getting results or just want a challenge, try tracking both this week and let me know how it goes :)
I'm hoping to get back down to goal-weight this week, post spring break, and thus be able to really test my ability to balance eating more normal and exercising less crazily while maintaining that weight. This is something I'm very nervous about getting a handle on, especially with a summer at home ahead of me.

Hope you are all well! Please message me if you have any questions or comments!

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Happy Easter!

Good morning and Happy Easter to you all! Even if you don't celebrate this day for it's religious intentions I'm sure we all have fond memories of waking up to search for a candy and goodie filled basket full of green grass that gets everywhere and colorful plastic eggs :) At least I know I do! So because I'm trying to stay healthy and have a hard time with control when it comes to sweets, I decided to make myself an Easter Basket with healthy stuff! Behold my Easter basket: homemade healthy bunny and Easter egg shaped pancakes with banana slices for the candy!










Here's the pancake recipe if you'd like to try this delicious treat!
For 1 serving, 4 pancakes:
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/4 unsweetened applesauce
1/4 fat free millk
3 Tbsp egg whites or egg substitute
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2-3/4 tsp Splenda
a little water
Mix that all up and spoon 2-3 Tbsp of it into a pan for each pancake! Top with fresh fruit and sugar free syrup! Each pancake is just 1pt :)

Happy Easter all!

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Spring, what is that?

I mean really snow on the First Day of Spring? Atleast that's how it's been in Illinois....
Hello all! Sorry it's been awhile since I posted, as I said before I was home for Spring Break and had to enjoy every minute of it :) I got in some good runs while I was home and got my mom started on the physical part of her journey to My Kind of Healthy!  24hr Fitness has a good facility and some great tools- staff and such, to get you on your way. Some things I learned about running with a dog: 1) all dogs do not enjoy long-term running, 2) you must gradually work them up to your pace and duration just like how you had to start out, and 3) ALWAYS check their paws before and after, especially if they show any sign of discomfort. My pup cut his pad during our run and I didn't realize it til much later :(
  Now that I'm back at school I'm working on maintaining my goal weight on working on balancing some more normal behavior (eating out, drinking, not exercising everyday) with the things about being healthy that I enjoy like lots of fruits and veggies and working out. I'm also starting a body measurements chart to document my muscular changes now that I'm not focusing on weight loss anymore. I'd suggest starting one in conjunction with your weight loss regimen.
  This morning I tried running a course with hills and uneven pavement, same distance 4 miles, but with the added challenge. I succeeded and felt accomplished if a bit sorer than normal! I like the idea of challenging yourself and so when I think of something like this I make myself try it. Recipes for you all to try and can find on my Pinterest Healthy Recipes page: Healthified Chicken Tortilla Casserole and Quinoa Veggie and feta stuffed Bell Peppers! Both were super delicious and fairly easy to make.
I hope all of you are doing well on journeys! As always, feel free to message me or comment on this post; I'd love some feedback!

Friday, March 8, 2013

GOAL!

Hello! So I'm sorry it's been awhile since I posted but a lot has gone on. First of all, I made my goal finally! It feels great and now I am just trying to learn how to balance less intense exercise with eating more normally... It will take a bit to read just myself to this new way of living but I know its going to be a great adventure! I hope you are all doing well.
One of my close friends has begun her journey to health and so I'd like to share her blog: http://healthful-love.tumblr.com/  
I'm home for Spring Break so I'll update as I can, as always feel free to comment or message me!
 You can do this :)

Monday, February 25, 2013

Sick no more!

I just realized that since beginning my journey to fine My Kind of Healthy, I have not gotten sick once O.O... I used to get colds like nobody's business but in the last 8 months- NO colds, no stomach bugs, very few headaches (I've been treated for severe migraines since I was 5 years old) and less overall malaise! This is huge and I can't believe I haven't realized it since before now. I've been sick most of my life, so sick I've been practically disabled for large parts, so this revelation is amazing and wonderful and I just had to share! If you're like me and get sick often, then I highly suggest that you look into finding your own Kind of Healthy. Not only are the physical changes empowering, motivating and make you feel great about yourself; but being able to not get sick and staying more stable emotionally are also benefits you could reap!
 On a side note, be honest with yourself about what you're eating and how much because even if you write down or log having eaten a lesser amount- your body is keeping an accurate diary so to speak and it will come back in one way or another. If you remember later that you forgot to log something then just take a little bit off each day for a few days until you've made it up. We are human, these things happen you don't need to berate yourself!
 I am so excited about this latest realization and the prospect of making my goal this week! I'm super motivated now, hope it hold! Have a great week everyone!

Saturday, February 23, 2013

When to Up the game

Hello everybody! I hope you had a good week :) Today I'd like to talk about when to Up your game in other words, when to try just a little harder. This is in addition to changing up your workout to keep your body guessing as we discussed last week. So I've had to hardest time trying to break 144lbs, my body just seems to love that number... I came across a meme earlier this week that said "When you want it as much as you need to breath, you'll find a way" At first I thought this was a bit extreme, and it is if you take it literally; but what I take from it is that when you want something enough, when you're willing to compromise, that's when it starts working.
  Ever since I got back down to 144 post-holidays I've been trying to use all my points and work out just a little less intensely to get my metabolism ready for when I reach my goal, so that I don't gain all that weight back. This week though, I decided I wanted to see, really just see if I could break 144. I've wanted it for a long time, but on Friday I finally said I wanted it as much as breathing. So I worked myself as hard as I've ever worked and BOOM! I made it down to 142.6lbs and proved to myself that I am strong enough :) Now I'm not saying whenever you feel like you've hit a snag to go out and work yourself to death, all I'm saying is that 1) this takes dedication and probably some sacrifice, especially if you want timely results and 2) if you hit a long-term snag, chances are you're going to have to Up your game.
  A lot of this is finding what your body needs, what it likes, and what works. Sweets are my Achilles heel, so I found chocolate flavored gum (sounds nasty but it tastes really good and does the trick!). I know I need to eat protein after a workout to maximize my effort, that even though I may have the points I need to use them on healthier options like fat-free yogurt, proteins and such not sugar. Figuring out some of these things is just trial-and-error, you may notice trends as you get on your journey pay attention to these and make changes accordingly.
 A tip for keeping motivated with the healthy eating is to try new recipes! I try to make a new one every week and sometimes depending on if I have company I may try too. These keep your taste buds happy and let you stay on track. Food.com and Pinterest are my two main sources for healthy recipes.
 As always, good luck on your journey this week feel free to message me or comment on this post with any questions or comments!

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Pinterest...

Most of you have probably heard of Pinterest by now, the virtual "pin board" where you can collect anything and everything from random memes to wedding ideas. I have succumbed to the mania and have found it a very useful tool in my quest for a healthier me. It has TONS of recipes, inspiration, workouts and just fun stuff :) Here are a few things I'd like to share:
Likes | Tumblr
.
Lol!!

Eliminate Negative Thoughts and Lose Weight
Yes it is...

If you'd like to follow pins like these, here's the link to my profile: http://pinterest.com/caitlinlh91/

Enjoy the day my friends!

Challenges and Changes and Acceptance

Hey everyone! Sorry it's been a bit since I posted last, been busy with school and have had some challenges to work through... So today I'd like to write about acceptance. First of all no matter how far you've yet to go toward your goal, appreciate how far you've already come. This is essential and something I've tried to keep perspective of during my journey. This whole thing can get stressful when you've set a specific weight goal in your mind, no matter if its reasonable or not; when you get within those last 5lbs you're just so ready to get there so ready to be done and your body just has a really hard time accepting that so it won't let go. This is where acceptance comes in, accept how far you've gotten and that you may not get to that final goal for awhile, so take a deep breath, appreciate yourself and applaud your hard work and just keep trying.
      For me this took a slight breakdown, a good long chat with my biggest supporter and some chocolate ;) But once I started getting that into my head I made a slight change to my plan, I wouldn't go at it as hard and see what happens. And you know what? I still lost weight that week, I still made progress, and I was less stressed! So the moral here is when you get to that point where it feels like you're trying your hardest and not getting anywhere, take a step back, maybe even a step down and just keep trying, keep believing. Sooner or later you will get there.
     Something else I'd like to discuss is the whole idea of keeping your body guessing. So I've heard and read many places that the key to good steady long term weight loss is habit, its having a plan and sticking to it, consistency. But lately this new idea of keeping your body guessing by changing up your workouts, eating slightly more and slightly less on alternating days is growing in strength. Here's my take on it: to get started you need routine and you need habit to get used to it and to be able to stick to it and see consistent results. The changing it up comes when you get to the point I talked about earlier, when that doesn't seem to be working as fast as you'd like and you need a little break a little difference. Either way works and both are good theories in my opinion.
  No matter where you are in your journey remember that you can do it, just keep trying and do not get discouraged by setbacks, just turn them into comebacks! We are all in this together :) If you have any questions comments or just want to talk feel free to message me!

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Spaghetti and Meatballs!

One of my most favorite meals in the world is spaghetti and meatballs, and we all known how hard it is to fit pasta into your daily points. So I tried something I saw on good ol' Pinterest and made it with Spaghetti squash! Here's a picture of the final product


Here's what I did to make this delicious, nutritious and super filling meal:
Step 1) Halve a spaghetti squash and place on baking sheet. Bake at 400 for 40 minutes.
Step 2) while the squash is cooling, broil one turkey patty for 10 minutes per side . Optional- season with Italian seasoning, garlic salt, oregano, onion powder and chili powder. While turkey is cooking, put 1/2 cup of Prego Heart Smart Marinara into a bowl and microwave til hot.
Step 3) Take a fork and scrape the desired amount of spaghetti squash into the bowl ( this gives it the spaghetti like appearance) you want to eat out of, scrape rest into a container for future use. Optional- cut up 1/4 a green bell pepper, 1 chive, and any other veggies you like and put to the side.
Step 4) When the turkey patty is cooked through pour the Prego over the squash and microwave for about a minute. While that is heating dice up the turkey patty.
Step 4) Toss turkey, and veggies on top of squash and marinara and lastly top with mozzarella cheese!

This is good for 6pts :)

Enjoy!

Balance...

One of the hardest things in life, and dieting especially, is balance. Balancing food with exercise, rest with effort, and then what kinds of food- protein vs. fat, carbs vs. protein, and all that. You can't eat too much but you can't eat too little as well! I've found that I can't eat less than 18 out of my 23 points a day and still lose my 1-2lbs a week. For awhile I was only eating 16 out of 25 points a day, and that worked really well for awhile, but I was tired all the time. And then, I stopped loosing weight! I was so upset and depressed, all this work, not eating hardly anything and I couldn't lose anything! My mom, who's worried about me losing weight this fast because of all the toxins (chemo) and medications that my body is detoxing as it loses fat, told me to try eating more. I tried that reluctantly and actually started to lose weight again.
  The lesson here is don't eat too far under your points, those points are supposed to be low enough for you to lose weight anyways so under counting them is just a recipe for disaster. The next set of scales to balance is what kind of food you're eating. My worst enemy is sweets, I HAVE to eat something sweet everyday or I will cheat... Candy kisses, healthy cookies and treats, I've found ways to make it work :) Whatever your Achilles heel is, try your best to give yourself just a little bit of it, even if its just once a week.
 Timing is a new facet I'm learning to deal with... For example, post workout if you eat more protein-rich meals you feel fuller longer and you're results will show the effort! I go for a nice chicken salad and some cottage cheese and fruit. Also, I try really really hard not to eat past 8pm unless I just can't avoid it, meetings or work running late for instance . It has been shown time and time again that your metabolism pretty much shuts down at 8 even if you're a night owl, so eating past that time is not the best thing you can do for yourself. Having this 8 pm deadline helps me to space my meals and snack throughout the day better as well.

That's how I try to maintain balance, how do you?

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Workout Mania

Something I forgot to mention in the earlier workout post was documenting. I personally like to have a record of my goals and my progress along the way. The easiest way I found to record workout was to take pictures of the screen of the machine, or a snapshot of the timer, after a workout.
Run Example:

 Elliptical Example:

 Recumbent bike Example:
  Try to get the duration, the distance, and the calories burned in the picture :)
 Its really fun to go back through all your workouts and see how much  stronger you've gotten!

Laterz

Goals are Dreams with deadlines..

One topic I'm pretty passionate about is goals; what they are, how you decide on them, and how you help yourself get there! You may have an idealized pant size, a BMI, dress size, a weight, or simply just a way you want to look. I know that from a very young age I was taught about what we "should" weigh, but I'm here to tell you that most height weight charts were made, or are based on ones made, during the Great Depression! A time when our country was comparatively unhealthy and in a situation we can never fully reproduce (environmental factors and such). With the current state of our country and all the factors that are out of our control, I think it is stupid to try to base our idea of healthy on those numbers. Now, I'm not saying that you can't get to that number, just that you shouldn't have to in order to be considered healthy.
I spent a lot of my life wishing to be skinny, to look like the other girls. Then I went through hell and realized it was simply a gift to be healthy! So that is my goal now, to be healthy. My idea of health is: a weight within a realistic range, a good BMI, normal blood chemistries (cholesterol and such) and having a body that can do what I want it too. For me this is: 138-140lbs, 24.7-24.9 BMI, and being able to run a 5k without passing out! I have included the height-weight chart I like to look at.
   So here's what I suggest: look at this chart, check out your BMI, and then take your dreams for yourself and put them together so you have a feasible healthy goal that will make you happy and confident! The next step is to set up a schedule or a date, I like using a 1-2lb a week model. Once you have all these laid out, and I personally like to write it all out makes me feel organized and excited, then pick "subgoals" at which you will reward yourself! A lot of people make the mistake of rewarding themselves with food, but as my good friend Pinterest reminds us:
Its true, when you act like you are depriving yourself of everything good, or when you actually do, your mind never settles into this new healthier you scheme. So get yourself a new shirt to show off your new bod, or go to a movie with friends! Do something simple, but at the same time meaningful :)
  That's about all I have to say on goals for now, message me if you have any questions or just want to talk!

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Motivational Posters :)





Working Out

So I know this is probably the hardest part for anyone to get started on... I know I still dread some days heading to the gym after class or work, but the feeling afterward makes it all worth it! The trick with working out is to start slow, challenge yourself but don't push it so far as to make you never want to come back. Try starting out with 2-3 days a week then gradually add more if you want. I started out with 3 days a week, then went to 5 and then I was going 6 days a week when for awhile when I was trying to overcome some plateaus. Right now I go a gym 5 days a week for 75 minutes- 3.5 hours depending on how tired I am, what I want to do and how much time I have. I also do some home exercises like crunches, push-ups, and yoga on a 6th day but I do take Sundays off. One thing I've learned is that you have to give yourself a day off, especially when you're starting out!
   The most effective and do-able workout I've found is a mix of cardio and strength training, they say you should do 60 minutes of cardio 3-5x a week for your heart, so keep that in mind as you start working out, that 3-5 hours will be your first goal. They also suggest 2-3 strength training sessions a week to build muscle and help your metabolism. Here is an example of one of my beginning workouts:
  1. 15-30 minutes on the elliptical at level 1 or 2
  2. 30 minutes on recumbent or upright bike at level 3-5
  3. 10-15 minutes of resistance weight training: abdominals, triceps, biceps, calves, quads, and shoulders are the most important groups.
 You can try exchanging the elliptical for running, I do that twice a week, to keep your body on the edge and give you a little change of scenery. Swimming is absolutely wonderful if you have access because it can be cardio, fat burn and strength training all in one!
 If you've never worked out seriously before and this is intimidating just try 15 minutes or so on a machine and see how it feels. You have to learn your body and its limits as you do, so just try something anything, and then things will start to fall into place!
If you can't afford a gym or just don't have any near you try this home routine:
  - Itty Bitty tummy workout via Pinterest
       25 crunches, 25 reverse crunches, 25 bicycle crunches, 40 Russian twists, 25 hip bridges, 25 side crunches per side, 30 sec plank. Repeat 3x
- push-ups: start with 5 or 10 and work up to more
- tricep dips: find a sturdy chair and with your back facing the seat grip the sides of the chair and bend your knees at a right angle, then slowly lower yourself down and then raise back up, repeat 10-30x.
-Hip abductors and adductors, lateral leg lifts
- squats (optional)
-bicep curl: find something weight 2-5lbs that you can hold in one hand and use that as a weight if you don't own one.
- Yoga: there are lots of free apps and routine on the internet, its a great way to stretch and calm the mind!

I'll post more on this as we go,  its all about finding something that you can do that feels good. You don't want to constantly be sore from working out, but you do have to gain muscle and keep your metabolism up for good weight loss!

Ta-ta-for now :)

Recipes



First Steps :)

Hello again! Here's a list of the first steps on how I found My Kind of Healthy
Step 1: figure out your daily points allowance- http://www.healthyweightforum.org/eng/calculators/ww-points-allowed/
             This will give you the amount of points you can have a day as well as a tentative schedule for how much you can expect to lose in a given time frame and when you should reduce your daily points.
              Keep in mind, if you go over one day simply take that many points off your total for the next day or if it is a large number take a few points off each day until you break even. The point is not to go hungry!
             On the "real Weight watchers" you get a set number of weekly/cheat points in case you need to eat out or something along those lines, for 28 daily pts you get 49 weekly points so you can extrapolate from there.
Step 2: figure out how many points your favorite foods are-http://www.calculatorcat.com/free_calculators/weight_watchers_calculator.phtml 
      What you want is low fat, high fiber, medium carbs and proteins :)
      Here is the list of point free foods! http://www.exercise4weightloss.com/zero-point-foods.html
             all veggies are free, most fresh fruit is free too
Step 3: create a varying meal plan! 
Step 4: watch the pounds fall off!

If you're looking for some tasty low points recipes try Food.com, thats where I've found a lot of my stuff!'

Hope this helps you all!

Introductions

To start off I'd like to give you a little bit of background on me to let you better understand why I'm doing this and why it means to much. First of all, I may only be 21 but my body has been through more than most peoples go through in their entire life. I've been through chemotherapy twice, once for Hodgkin's Lymphoma and another time for an infection. I've had radiation therapy, seizure medications, steroids, and so many other chemicals injected or otherwise put inside my body that I've lost count. Let me tell you it may be hard to be fit when you're otherwise healthy, but its a beast when you've got other issues going on. I've struggled with weight and health my whole life, but about 6 months ago, a few months after I achieved "cure"(5 years of my cancer being in remission) I made a decision that literally turned my life around. I was tired of having my health and happiness seemingly out of my control. So I got organized, did some research and went at it! Thanks to the support of my family and friends, and my own hard work, things are finally turning around.
   Here's what I did and what I want to share with all of you: I researched a widely accepted eating plan that has worked for people I know personally and other who have had just a hard of time with weight as me, Weight Watchers. I didn't want to pay for the service because I wanted to make sure I could stick to it first, so I found some websites that calculate your daily point allotment ( which I think is a whole lot easier and more satisfying than counting calories). The number seemed reasonable to I made myself some sample meal plans that sounded good. At the same time I started exercising at the Student Recreation Center on my university's campus, I started out slow and then let it grow!
    Between those two things, eating right and exercising I've lost a net total of 60lbs! If I can do this so can you, so can anybody. And let me tell you, even when I don't meet my expectations for weight loss on a given week I feel stronger and healthier than ever. I plan on posting all the recipes I've found and liked, a sample of my exercise regime, Pinterest posts and other websites I've found helpful and motivational things. I hope you'll read and enjoy this blog, please feel free to leave comments or notes if you have any questions!

Hello World! I'm currently working on putting together some posts and links about how to get on the road to My Kind of Healthy. This blog is about finding what works for you to get your mind and your body into not only the shape you want it be in but into the shape it should be in. This isn't about fad diet or getting super skinny and super ripped, its about being healthy in a modern world :) Over the past 6 months I've been building my own plan and have lost about 60lbs the good ol' fashion way with diet and exercise. I hope that this blog will help you find your own kind of healthy and happiness!