The Busy Mama's Guide to Eating Right

I'm sure most of you have heard about the weight loss craze sweeping the nation. Body by Visalus; better known as Vi. I will let you know right now a big part of my lifestyle change came in part, thanks to Visalus and it will be a big part of what you read in my blog. If you are also a Vi user, it might be a great way to see what meals you can plan along with your shakes as well as some different options for the shake mix!

Before I get going and there's no end in sight, I want to start with a bit of a back story. I started working out about 6 years ago soon after my husband and I had started dating. I loved it and while it changed my body and fitness, I did not stop my bad eating habbits. It wasn't until after the birth of my second child that I really started enjoying my vegetables. While I give him full credit, somehow, I can't be sure he was totally responsible for the change. I worked out during both of my pregnancies (I'm talking 120lbs squats at 8 months pregnant work out) I have never, ever, however, been a fan of running or any cardio that doesn't involve me shaking my groove thang.

I struggled to lose the last few vanity pounds of my baby weight and FINALLY after about a year of being coaxed into it, decided to give Visalus a try. My main reason, oddly enough, was not weight loss. The woman who signed me up told me about the enormous boost in energy that she had and I wanted every part of that. After trying to adapt to whatever new sleeping schedule my kids had decided to try out that week, staying up until midnight working from home and falling asleep reading my Bible (terrible, right?), I needed all the energy I could get my sleep deprived hands on. 

As arrogant as it may sound, I didn't think I needed Vi for fitness and was nervous about adding a protein shake to my diet. After 2 weeks of FORCING myself to suppliment 2 meals a day (breakfast and lunch) I really started noticing a difference. After about a month I had seen insane results, including the departure of my baby pooch whom I assumed had "set up camp" in my gut permanently. It was also about that time I decided, since I had lost the weight I wanted, and since I stay pretty consistantly with my workouts, I would start using Vi as a breakfast replacement (since I'm never all too hungry at 5, 6 or 7am) and an after workout meal. I started working on a 5-6 meal a day plan. I slowly began collecting information from various sources on different healthy food options and while I'm still working on it, here are some tips from what I've learned so far.

Monday:

7:30am: Rise and shine.

The time change has actually caused my children to "sleep in" which is something I truly appreciate. I CRAVE my breakfast which consist of the following

1 cup fat free yogurt blended with 2 scoops of Vi -1 cup frozed raspberries. I blend them in the blender on the "ice chop" setting 1/4 cup Archer Farms granola, 2tablespoons ground flax seed (found in Target near the flour) and about 10 dark chocolate chips. Yes, 10. I am a chocoholic and dark chocolate is good for you, so there.

I could and would gladly eat this consistantly throuhgout my day but that would probably mean I'd wind up with none the next day, so I resist the urge. I'm even more excited after my husband, Tom told me this weekend that yogurt, flax seed and berries are all in the top 20 "power foods". Foods that are recommended for health and help build lean muscle! I have been telling him for months that he shold be eating flax seed and after he READS it somewhere, he decides to listen. Men, I tell ya.

This is by far a Vi meal that I highly suggest to people, especially if they are just getting started. It can be tough starting the shakes simply because, since we were infants we have learned to chew our meals and it can be a tough transition. Don't stress too much about the calorie count with this, although you could probably cut back on the granola and dark chocolate, but I know I'm sure not going to! This is such a great protein and fiber boost to start your day with and is actually highly recommended as a night time snack as well. Like I said earlier, I once read that it is actually good for you to have an ounce (or so) of dark chocolate every day. I found an article at fitday.com that explains some of the benefits to dark chocolate, in case that information peeked your interest.

http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/6-health-benefits-of-dark-chocolate.html#b

8:30 a.m.: Before we head out the door to get to the gym, usually a bigger workout (with a 1 and a 2 year old) than the gym itself. Tom and I try to make sure our post-workout shakes are ready to go. I opted for the Vi Oreo Frappuccino this morning. 

3 ice cubes 1cup (8oz) organic soy milk bleded with 2 scoops of Vi, 1 heaping Tablespoon of Oreo pudding mix and 1 tablespoon instant decaf coffee. -Why decaf? There is no sneaky reason other than the fact that I LOVE the taste of Vi's coffee shakes. They are significantly less expensive than Caribou, with maybe 1/6 of the amount of calories.- To top off my shakes, even the coffee ones, I throw in a handful of spinach. No skimping there. It gives me my first serving of veggies for the day, plus a protein boost after a workout and you can't taste a thing!

9:30 a.m.: Arrived at the gym at the exact time my Turbo Kick class began. My husband offered to get the kids checked in to child care so I wouldn't be too painfully late. For those of you who haven't tried Turbo Kick, I highly suggest you give it a go, multiple times. A friend of mine recently posted to Facebook about what workouts work best for your body time and the look you are trying to accomplish. I was so thankful that she did! I try to constantly switch up my workouts so me (and my body) don't get bored and fall into a slump. I had just decided I should give Turbo Kick a try mainly because I might actually enjoy the cardio and after years of research on "how to get a butt" kicks have always been a big part of the suggestions I've found. Rather than flailing like an idiot by myself in the weight room, I figured it was best to do it with a group that were all doing that same thing. Anywho...back to the matter at hand, the article my friend had snapped a picture of said to avoid a "box like" stomach tone down on classes like pilates and yoga and start in with more cardio, full body, aerobic classes. I thought, PERFECT, I was planning on doing that anyway. This does NOT however, mean I will give up my pilates! No thank you to that! But we'll get more into that on Wednesday I'm sure!

Well, after 55 minutes (have to subtract my tardiness minutes) of non stop kicking, punching, twisting and jumping I was covered in sweat, exhausted and gasping for air. It was amazing. I also love that within hours, my butt said thank you through the pain I felt. Jessica Alba, I'm not...but still, I've got to look better than looking like I shoved a board down the back of my pants. 

I immediately limped my sweaty self over to my Vi shake and slurped that baby down like there was no tomorrow. I always found in strange that I consistantly choose coffee shakes for after a workout, but, what can I say, I love em. Now, I have actually found sense behind it! While my celebrity workout obsessed husband was Googling different foods, he stumbled upon the fun fact that coffee is actually a good thing to have prompltly after a workout!

There seem to be mixed reveiws as to whether or not this is actually true, but I did find this small tidbit on smallworldbeauty.com

"The researchers found that athletes who ingested caffeine with carbohydrate had 66 % more glycogen in their muscles four hours after finishing intense, glycogen-depleting exercise, compared to when they consumed carbohydrate alone."

12:30 p.m: It's a tough thing when the budget is tight and you're trying to eat healthy, but I do it gosh darnit. Thanks to St. Patty's Day I had some leftover green hollandaise sauce that I had used to make eggs benedict. So, I decided that would be my meal. I try to keep the protein going and don't stress to much about calories after a big workout as long as they are not empty (chips, candy etc) Instead of an English muffin, I used my wheat, round sandwich thin. These have come to be a bit of a "go to" food for me. They are significantly smaller than bread and they are whole wheat. Which has time and time again proven that it is far more beneficial to your health than white or refined breads. Next in line was a few thin slices of turkey ham, topped with a poached egg and egg whites. I thought I would give this a try. While poaching the egg itself I poured some instant egg whites in with it. These are a great thing to have on hand if they are all natural. Egg whites have less fat but are still a healthy option for you. BUT that doesn't mean you should skimp on the yolk! First of all, it's delisious, second, the yolk is packing protein and healthy fats. Like I said, I really don't stress about the fat content post workout (as long as I know it's ultimately a good fat.) I topped it off with 1 teaspoon of hollandaise sauce. I put it into a small bowl and mixed it with a few spinach leaves to give them a nice flavor coating. Spinach isn't normally a part of eggs benedict but I really try and get it in wherever I can! It's such a great power food and really doesn't have much of a taste to it. 

3:30 p.m.: SNACK TIME! I don't skimp on this special time of the day, just after (God willing) nap time. Today my kiddos nibbled on some whole weat apple and apricot Fig Newton bars while I had a Nature's Valley granola bar with...you guessed it...dark chocolate. A quick 80 calorie pick me up that curbs my cravings before dinner and most of the time, saves me money at the store. (Check for coupons people, I'm tellin' ya)

5:15 p.m.: Dinner is served. There are times that I stare blankly into my fridge because I have no idea what I'm going to whip up. Thankfully I landed on a delicious and nutritious baked chicken parmesan. Pretty simple really, chicken breast dipped in egg white and rolled in a mixture of bread crumbs, real parmesan cheese (I hate that fake stuff) Italian seasoning and ground flax seed, of course. Because I had smaller pieces of chicken I baked for only 7 minutes on each side at 400F. While they were baking I mixed some 100% virgin olive oil with some more parmesan and real garlic (not the salty shakers) and spread them across the wheat sandwhich thins and toasted them in the toaster oven. Olive oil is a great alternative for butter or margerine. It, like eggs, is a healthy fat which can actually help your body absorb the nutrients in your veggies. After the chicken was finished, I put them on the toasted thins, drizzled some organic spaghetti sauce  on top and then topped it all with...yup...chopped spinach. Seriously, the kids eat it too and it can easily weasle it's way into nearly any meal. 

After some running around, getting the kids to bed and finishing up the dishes, I made myself some of my newest favorite, guac! I have this vegetarian friend who I used to treat like she had a third eye. I mean, who gives up delicacies like BACON on purpose? I know find her incredibly helpful as far as her knowledge of the health benefits of beans, nuts, seeds and other things I can't even pronounce. Well, she, of course, would be the one to get me to take my first bite of guacamole. I had tasted avacados after my daughter was born and was turned off immediately. I hesitantly tasted her green concoction and found it absolutely delightful. So much so, that I couldn't stop eating it, which wasn't really a bad thing! I am now almost always stocked with avacados. Here's how she worked her magic: 1 avacaod, 1/2 tomato, 1 small or 1/2 large onion, 1-2 tablespoons garlic, 1 squeezed lime juice (yes, I use the stuff in the bright green bottle) and just a LITTLE of the guac mix. The packets claim to require 2 avacados and the whole bag! I have managed to make my most recent pack last for 4 different batches. It cuts back on the sodium intake hugely and still gives it that kick that I love. 

Speaking of sodium, did I mention I have had about 50oz of water today? Water is super important. Helps keep your body from holding onto that pesky water weight for one thing and for another, it fills me up during my meals which tend to stay pretty small. I do get bored of the "taste" of water and generally mix a glass with a flavor packet. They have so many different options these days and box of them is generally around $2. Our family is stocked up on them. We have a cute little tin bucket next to the fridge for easy access and a variety of options. 

Well, that's it. That was my day. I can't seem to imagine how anyone would find it interesting, but hopefully, it was beneficial!