Eating on a Budget

Probably one of the most common excuses I hear daily from clients, Facebook friends etc. when it comes to weight loss, is "well, I can't afford healthy food." or, "junk is just so much cheaper than real food."
For all you out there with this reasoning as to why you cannot eat healthy, this post is for you!

I've written about this in like round about ways, but today will be a lot more specific! And for those of you amazing readers that are pro deal hunters, please feel free to comment and add your favorite stores and suggestions as how you save money while eating well.

Okay, so problems with junk food.

It seems cheap and easy but.. is it?


Example: Banquet meals.

We have a couple of friends that are obsessed with these meals because Wal-Mart sells these for $1 a piece. So you think, cool a dollar a day? Then you open it and not only is it tasteless, but it's a REAL SERVING SIZE! And because they're loaded with preservatives and junk, the serving size is.. a serving size for ants? The average person, at least, these friends of ours, that eat these all the time eat about 3-4 meals per MEAL.

Therefore not only, NOT down to $1 lunches, but loading their bodies with junk, that not only leaves you with love handles and a belly, but terrible skin/acne.

So math time. $5 lunch, not bad. Then you add the medical bills from the heart attack, then the Proactive plan you need to fix not only your face from breaking out but the rest of your body then tightening creams for that cellulite. I don't even want to add that up.

Then there's fast food. The average American individual spends more or less $2000 per year on fast food. Now, multiply by how many people in your family.. That ends up being about 9.3%
of your yearly income.

What if, now this is just crazy talk- but what if you set aside $2000 for each person in your family every year? ...They'd be attending pretty awesome schools, wearing super fancy clothing and for sure have a good chance for an early retirement am I right?

Why though, are we spending that much money to plump our kids up? Showing ourselves and families it's just "easier" or "more convenient" to be overweight? To spend their lives pumping anti depresents and more and more pills, and lugging around oxygen tanks for the sake of convenience? As you saw, the food itself isn't cheap.. So why fast food ya'll? Why?

Same with any freezer food or processed food like Corn Dogs- which I totally understand, sometimes you need a good corn dog, but not as an every day thing right? Save your body, save your skin from nasty food.

Alright, now that you've had your slap on the wrist, lets find you a solution!

Real food not only makes your skin, hair, nails, tummy legs and all those trouble spots, NOT a problem, but you're pumping your body with good food that acts like an antidepresents and energy boosters, and fat burners that have ZERO side effects. How amazing! Also when you're going through huge body changes like pregnancy, or if you've just had a baby, get those real foods in you!

Now, great places to find good, fresh food at an awesome cost are the following:

Maceys Grocery,
Sunflower Market- if you have a Student ID, you get 50% off all fresh produce EVERY TUESDAY!
Winco
Smith's - semi pricey but they have great deals and such fresh produce

Anyone wanna add any more? If you know of anywhere that has as great of deals as Sunflower Market PLEASE leave your comments!

Here's your goal for this week. Make time to make a meal. If you don't know what to buy at the grocery store, here's a list of essentials that you can use for ANYTHING.

Spinach
Carrots
Tomatoes
Cucumbers

Fruit of any kind!
Oranges
Apples
Strawberries
Peaches

That's stuff you can just snack on if you're ever bored, or watching TV. So part two of the goal- as soon as you pick up one good veggie or fruit, cross off a junk meal from your shopping list.

FINAL part of the goal. Google a recipe. What sounds good? And you don't have to wait till you're hungry- Sit down with your family/husband/roomates on a Monday night and plan all your meals.
I always Google "(insert meal name here) Recipe Easy" they always come up with the simplest, most delicious recipes ever!
Plan out your meals and FOLLOW THROUGH. You'll notice an immidiate change  in your waistline within that first week of cutting out the junk, and replacing that junk with good food.
I guarantee you a better attitude, more energy, as mentioned a trimmer waist, and a happier husband. When you put in the work to make your man a real meal, it just shows him you care. Go that extra mile, if not for your health, for his.

Write out a list of foods you want. then cross the junk off and replace those bad wants with good food you NEED.

Your wallet will thank you.

I love you all. Take the challenge and improve your life even if it's making just one real meal a week, then two meals the next week.

You can do this.

To Jamie.

Okay can we all agree that I wait way too long to blog in between posts?

Here's why. I get crazy inspired and write a golden post that gets a million hits and get so popular, then I've got nothing to write after. It's like speaking in church after an amazing musical number; "I'm seriously supposed to follow that?"

Also to keep you on your toes to see what's next! Before we start, I told my friend JAMIE I'd tell her a scary story via blog today. (Mostly as an excuse to actually get on and write.)


As you may have noticed, I have a crazy creepy picture at the corner up here.. Go ahead. Look into those freaky eyes.

It was announced recently that this, the Furby, is estimated "hot" toy of the year!

I remember being a kid when these came out and my older sister and I BEGGED to have a Furby. Why? Looking at this picture.. no idea. Same reason I NEEDED a giga pet etc..

So, finally my parents got Ange a Furby for her birthday that looked exactly like the one shown above. We thought it was the cutest thing and learned it's little language and even taught our Furby to say "I love you" ... we think?

One night as we were sleeping, we hear it come on! "EE WEE WAH WEE" (no idea what it was saying.. I don't speak furby anymore).. So we both jump out of bed and Angie runs to shut it off.

We fall back asleep and we hear again "AHH WEE WAH EEEE!". What? We just turned this thing off?

Angie jumps up dazed and super confused, and pulls out the batteries. Maybe it's just broken.

Less than an hour later we hear it AGAIN- No batteries mind you... we came to one conclusion. "It has to be possessed."

We ran outside together in a panic, still the middle of the night and throw it in the out side dumpster trying to rid our room of the evil called Furby.

Finally a little shaken up, we went back to bed.

The next morning we came down for breakfast and there it was sitting on the kitchen table AGAIN. How the!?

We spent the net few days taping it up, and hiding it in a box, THEN throwing it away, taking it to school and throwing it away there, and it still came back. I think in a crazy rage we ended up destroying that monster and crushing it to pieces, then it's pieces to pieces then tossing it out.

That was the end of our Fuby trial.

Jamie, save your house. Don't do it. Hahahaha!!

More to come tomorrow. I have tons of news to share..
Love you all. Thanks for reading the most random blog post of anyones life, ever.

D***

The worst four letter word out there.

DIET.

 When thinking of that dreaded word, I know you're cringing just as much as I did when I wrote it out.

Worse than that word though, is it's combination word.

FAD DIET

Before you get all sick on me I want to talk about these nasty buggers that claim to be the answer to our lack of Abs and to our self esteem woos.

Yesterday, I taught my BYU class a lesson regarding this topic as an introduction to the rest of the subjects we'd be discussing this semester. Then the thought came to me to just write it all out for you readers, especially my most loyal reader Hayley because she reminded me it's been over a month since I've written! Love you girl!

Okay.

If you listen to the radio as often as I do, you've heard the advertisements for all sorts of miracle pills, like Healthy Trim saying they'll take you smaller than "High School skinny", or "wanna lose that stubborn belly fat in less than a month?", or even people talking about the famous HCG diet and how these amazing horemones make you burn fat bla, bla.

I took it upon myself to do some research on a few diets, and figure out the method or the idea behind all these crazy diet ideas.

What I discovered is that every fad diet has some sort of truth to it. For example. HCG, I'm not sure about the horemone itself, but when you're only eating 500 calories a day, there's no way you wouldn't lose weight am I right? The hormone is in my mind, the thing to make this diet look "legit" but the results come from the fact that you're starving yourself. Haha!

Now dig with me. What is the TRUTH behind this diet?

*BING* If you cut calories, you'll lose weight. Is that true? You bet it is! Now, if any diet recommends you ONLY have 500 calories a day, I hope you'll see that as a GIANT red flag or flashing neon sign saying "DON'T DO IT!"

Why?

Your body NEEDS food. You can always drop 500 calories from your now caloric intake and see reults. But if you're starving your body will cling to whatever food you DO eat. Starvation mode is a REAL THING.

Next diet I wanna play with. 

The famous ATKINS Diet.

I, in all honesty don't even know if they're still around or if people even use this diet still. But it's' a great example for this next weight loss concept.

What is their slogan? "Lose 15 Lbs in 2 weeks!"

What's the main idea to this diet?

NO CARBS.  Carbs are BAD! CARBS CAAAARBS STAY AWAYYYY!

With that said. Are carbs bad?

Hellz no. Carbohytrates are our main source of energy. They provide the body with fiber, and the brain with nourishment. Livestrong.com says the following:

"Out of the three macronutrients, carbohydrates are the most important source of energy, providing your body with the fuel you need for both physical activity, and for your organs to function properly. Your body turns consumed carbohydrates into glucose, blood sugar, and your organs, tissues and cells use this glucose for energy as it is needed right away, storing the excess in your muscles and liver to use as it is needed between meals."

With that said, grab your shovel again. Time to dig..

What is the truth about this diet?

Knowing we need carbohydrates, the truth to this diet is... as a society, we tend to overdo on the carbs. What are examples of carbohydrates?

Did a picture of bread, rice, oatmeal, or pasta pop up on your brain?

Did you also picture potatoes? Oranges? Apples? Spinach?

The Atkins diet, as well as South Beach are based on protein and fruits and veggies. They cut out the white or the flour-y carbohydrates because like I just said- we overdo them. So what's the answer or the healthier alternative to this diet? It's simple. Don't eat as many of the pastas or breads. Introduce ore fruits into your daily food regamin. Or if you're just hooked and can't survive without that 8th slice of bread per day, go out and work it off. Let your food become energy.

Have you read or done research on the ever popular, GLUTEN allergy? Did you know that it's an onset allergy?

"woah woah Andrea, say WHA?"

Yes. It's true. If you have or know someone that has a gluten allergy, the biggest reason is your eating habit. OUCH. I went there!

How do we develop this allergy? We over do our refined carbohydrates. White breads. White pasta. White, white, white. So like I said before. Love your body and replace those white, refined flours with whole grains. Yes, the good stuff with nuts all in it. It does you so much good as well as leaving you happy and satisfied for hours.

The last dietary myth I wanna cover is one that my friend brought to my attention. The idea is that Fasting is a great way to diet.

Let me draw your a picture.

________________________________________________________________________

This straight line above is your blood sugar. Now, when you're consistently eating, it stays flat and happy.

What happens when you don't eat?

You get the grumps. Your tummy starts crying, the headaches set in. You look like this kid.

You get all crazy and why? Because your blood sugar is low!!

Now that you're starving and your blood sugar line is on the decline, you see a McDonalds, grab a Big Mac, Large fries and a coke, which you normally don't eat of course cause you read this blog and you're a health freak, but in a moment of hunger you DID indeed inhale all that food! Now what's going on with your blood sugar?

It shoots up! Then you get the sick over did it feeling and you wanna die cause you just feel so miserable.

While that's all happening, your body is doing something else.

Remember like 18 paragraphs ago when I said Starvation Mode is a real thing?

I'll say it again. It's a REAL THING.

Your body is amazing machine, and here's what it does without you even knowing it. While you're getting over? that super full feeling, your insides are taking all the food you just ate, and converting it to fat. Why? Your body doesn't know when or if it's going to eat again. So to protect itself and to help you survive, it's storing all that food as fat for your body to use for the rest of the day.

I can't say it enough. YOU NEED FOOD.

Yes studies have shown that a fast once or twice a month is really good and cleans your insides out. But daily fasting isn't smart or healthy in the least.

The fix? Eat consistently. The diet telling you not to eat is a famous one. Maybe you've heard of it- Anorexia Nervosa? Don't do it. Eat at least every 3 hours. Eat constantly and eat GOOD, NUTRIENT DENSE foods. I promise just making that change, you'll see results. Take all the truthes from these crazy diets and apply them to you in the areas needed. Your body will love you and reward you with a trimmer waistline as well as energy!

Love you all. Sorry there was so much to read today! Haha! Stay tuned for more! And if you have questions or anything feel free to leave a comment! Let me know what you want to learn and I'm happy to research and write all about it!

Post for Moms: Scariest Post ever.

Hey everyone! Long time since I've written and I've actually been kicking myself in the pants knowing I need to be writing!
Cool experience a few weeks ago that I wanna share!
This cute girl, you know who you are, walked into my class and she was so stoked! I'd never seen her before and she ran up to me saying, "Andrea!? Is that you?"
"yes... haha! Are you new to Zumba?"

Come to find out, she was not. She had been to a million Zumba classes looking for ME! Needless to say, this conversation made me feel kind of famous. She had told me she found my blog by accident and read all of my competition entries and stuff and had been traveling all around Utah County to find my classes! How awesome is that!?

Therefore, knowing I have at least ONE person that reads this for sure, I figured I'd better start writing; which leads me to todays topic.

I bought a new book.

 The Skinny Rules The Simple, Nonnegotiable Principles for Getting to THIN which I love for 3 reasons.
1) It's written by the hunky, Bob Harper. (Trainer from NBC's The Biggest Loser)
2) It's written by the hunky... just kidding. Reason 2 is, It's SO BLUNT!
3) He makes all his rules so clear and direct and spells out the reasoning as well as consequeses to breaking every rule.

Along with those, Bob dispells all sorts of myths about health and he has research to help prove his point. For those of you who know me I LOVE BOB. Haha


Anyways, starting this book has gotten me thinking and noticing all sorts of eating habits. As you read his descriptions, "Bad foods" are so vivid and straight up disgusting that you can't even stand the thought of eating/drinking those foods again.

So here's an experience for all you Moms and parents out there.

Today I went to my little sisters school to help out with lunch duties. As I watched these kids I started to notice what they were eating. I was trying to snap a picture of one child's lunch box, but he got scared and ran to another table, but here's what I saw.

Cup O Noodles. Cheetos. Capri Sun.

For you parents that think this is a "normal kid's lunch", prepare to be offended. This, here and now is your wakeup call.

In one day a child at the age of 9 can, and should have no more than 1500 mg of Sodium. One day.

Cup O Noodles has 290 Calories. 1200 mg of Soduim. 12 grams of Fat.

Cheetos (small child's snack pack) has 160 calories. 290 mg of Sodium. 10 grams of Fat.

Capri Sun has 60 calories. 15 mg Soduim. 0 Fat.

In this one meal that was not even for a 9 year old, but made for a 6 year old child gives us a grand total of 1,375 mg of soduim.  So the question is, how much sodium should a 6 year old have in one day? The FDA says 1200 mg.

This 6 year old ate 175mg over his daily alotment, in about 20 minutes of his day.



GROSS.

How can we as a society, as a country even wonder why Childhood obiesity is the highest growing epidemic today? Look what we're feeding our children? Look what WE as adults snack on because "it's cheap" and "easy". Do you know what ISN'T cheap? Medical bills for when these children have to deal with onset diebetes. Do you know what ISN'T easy? Lugging around an oxygen tank because one can't sleep or breathe because of their obiesity.

This is probably the harshest blog post I've ever written. But after reading this book and seeing all the food our CHILDREN are consuming for the sake of "time" or "expense", then wondering why our children that WE fed are obese, I honestly feel this all just has need to be said.

If there's no time to prepare lunches in the morning before school, make time the night before.
If being healthy is expensive, change that mindset. Good food is the BEST investment you could make for your, and your children's future. Don't go the cheap route. Teach your kids to make food, and find FRESH food delicious by avoiding the high sodium, highly processed fast food or salty/sugary snacks.

If you're not nodding your head in agreement, you're probably thinking, "Andrea you don't even know blah blah, you don't even have kids blah blah." No I don't. You're right. I don't know what it's like trying to magage children and food and a household and work. But my mom does. She's a prime example of being a crazy busy mom, yet she still makes time and has my little sisters assemble their multigrain sandwiches, water and fruit with her every night. She makes time to make sure my little sisters get out and do something active every day. If she can do it, so can you.

Make the change in your lifestyle. This weeks challenge. Avoid fast food. Toss out at least 2 unhealthy snacks and buy fruit. Toss out the Cup O Noodles and make a sandwhich or something else. MAKE your food. You can do it.

How much water are you drinking?

So yesterday my Facebook issued a challenge for everyone to "Drink more water!". There were several responses to that status that were negative AND positive! One of my friends said he drinks about a quart every HOUR! That was so eye opening to me thinking, okay, I thought I was drinking tons at 2 gallons a day! Little did I know! I've been doing lots of reading, (which PS, I don't read! Except for fitness books with LOTS of pictures!) 
So when in some research, I came upon a chapter in "Making the Cut" by the lovely Jillian Michaels and she says the following about water intake.
"As a general rule, men should consume 120 ounces of water daily, and women should consume 80 ounces. But the following factors should also affect how much water you consume.

EXERCISE

If you exercise of engage in any activity that makes you sweat... you need to drink EXTRA water to compensate for that fluid loss. I recommend drinking 12 ounces of water two hours prior to a workout, and another 12 ounces 30 minutes before you begin. While you are exercising, you should drink 4 to 8 ounces every 15 minutes. And when you're finished, you should consume an additional 12 ounces within 30 minutes of the end of your workout." (Making the Cut by Jillian Michaels; pg 30-31 [caps added])

Lets do the math.

Women:

80+12+12+(8*4)+12= 104ish ounces-ish?

That's the MINIMUM!

Men:

120+12+12+(8*4)+12= 188 Ounces or about a gallon and a half!

Self check- How much water have you had today, so far?

My computer is deciding not to cooperate right now so I'll have to finish this blog post later! Look forward to reading the benefits of drinking water!