bullet coffee – Page 2 – Reclaiming My Health

Declaring My Why

This week I viewed a short video talking about the cycle of failure that often surrounds weight loss programs sent to me by Danette May. I’ve talked a lot about that myself, so I am always curious to learn more. We all truly want to be successful and sometimes we just need the tools to get there. You know the hardest part isn’t losing the weight, right? It’s the keeping it off and maintaining those healthy lifestyle changes you made to get there. Hence, the cycle of failure surrounding lasting change.

Personally, I don’t do big swings up and down with my weight and health. I have learned, after years of trying, to maintain where I am. That is good and a celebration to be had. Others are not so fortunate. I know many who have huge swings in their weight. What unfortunately happens is when you return to prior habits, you end up gaining it all back, plus a bit more. It is so disheartening and sad and truly a phenomena I’d love to change.

Enter the clip I watched, with a simple easy addition to my healthy lifestyle journey. This blog is actually all about what this person was saying, but I liked her explanation as to why it is so critical. Basically, she said that one of the reasons people don’t hold on to the lifestyle changes and weight loss is because they lose sight of their WHY. The reason they started the journey in the first place. Once the weight is off and they feel better the WHY slips to the back of their thoughts and sure enough the old habits creep right back in.

This really makes sense to me and honestly it is true. I have shared so many of my tips and strategies for maintaining this healthy lifestyle. They are tools that helped me hold on. I’ve shared my drive and motivation to keep going, even when injured, to move my body every day. I’ve even shared that this month I added meditation to my morning routine, albeit short, to keep my mind free from stress. Well, unfortunately not totally living stress free, but working toward it. It’s very hard to keep stress out but I am building some walls around myself as we speak, yes walls! That may be my next topic – People Who Care too Much or People Pleasers…

The short, simple idea the video I watched gave me is to not only Declare My Why, but to write it down and return to if often. I definitely declared my why when I started this blog. Read my first post here to refresh your memory if you missed it. Keeping My Memories Taking my very personal journey public was a big step for me. What I don’t yet do though, is return to my WHY, look at it, reflect on it. I’m thinking a vision board may help me with that, but not the average one. It’s truly never been about imagining myself in a sexy beautiful body, though that sure would be lovely. Rather, it’s about seeing myself as a HEALTHY, HAPPY GRANDMOTHER surrounded by her beautiful family and KNOWING who they are!! It’s about living my life to the last breath and living it to the fullest.

When I declare my why I say, “I REFUSE to allow Alzheimers rob me of my memories! I REFUSE to suffer the fate of my grandmother and mother! I REFUSE to lose!” This is my motivation and my drive. It pushes me out of bed when I don’t want to get up and exercise. It pushes me to think about what I am putting in my mouth. It helps me hold on to the gains I’ve made these past years and continuously pushes me forward. It helps me not stray too far off the path, even though there are bumps along the way.

Please take a moment this week and drill down to discover your why. Why do you want to lose weight, or get healthy? If it’s to look good for a special event, that may not bring about lasting change, for once the event is over old habits may creep back in. Think beyond one event or moment in your life. Think bigger. Let’s all put on some armor as we attack this challenge, for this quest is truly a battle. Let’s wage war on those old nasty habits and banish them once and for all. Declare your why boldly! Write it down, paste it visibly in your living space. Look at it often, especially in those dark moments that will surely come. Hold tight to your WHY and it will be the power that pushes you through this journey.

I love to share quick recipes I’ve discovered and enjoyed.

Recipes(Courtesy of Danette May)

Beet Wrap

Organic Red beets (shredded)
Ezekiel Organic Sprouted Tortilla 6″
Grass fed, hormone free Feta cheese crumbled
Homemade Hummus
Organic arugula

Spread hummus on tortilla (1 tbsp), layer on red beets, small amount of feta and arugula. Wrap and eat. I used both raw and cooked beets. I personally preferred cooked, but many prefer raw and the crunch. P.S. – I’ve HATED beets my whole life and would never even put one in my mouth. I tried and loved this wrap. A favorite lunch choice.

Homemade Hummus (courtesy of Danette May)

1 1/2 c organic chickpea (cooked or canned)
1/2 c of the bean liquid or water
3 cloves of garlic
1/4 c Sesame Tahini organic
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp organic lemon juice, or juice from 1 organic lemon
1 tsp salt
pinch of cayenne pepper

Put all in Vitamix or blender, blend and serve. DELICIOUS, simple and clean!!

Tools for Success

I’ve come to realize that the approach to healthy living runs parallel to education principles. When thinking about educational principles, one realizes many of the concepts advocated are ones you’d need to be successful in healthy living. This week I’d like to focus on a few of the changes I’ve made this month.

First and foremost you need to plan. Much like teachers plan out their weekly lessons, the weekend finds me menu planning. If I don’t take time to do this planning, I find myself grabbing just anything with little regard to health. I have a simple system I’m currently using to make this time spent planning more effective.

I plan my meals using healthier versions of recipes (I use cookbooks and online sites). I focus my planning on dinner. I list for each day the dinner I will eat. I create my shopping list on a piece of paper as I choose a dinner. I plan to eat leftover from dinner for lunch, but also build in two lunch salads or quick meals. I add these to my shopping list. For breakfast, I plan on a green smoothie two to three days a week, eggs twice and oatmeal the other days. I keep organic frozen veggies and fruit on hand, but add fresh produce to my list each week. I only buy what I plan to consume to avoid waste. I also freeze what I don’t get to eat. I cut it up and place in ziplock freezer bags and this has cut down on waste.

When making shopping lists, I list items by recipe. I then check in my freezer and pantry and cross off any items I find I already have. This avoids duplicate purchasing of spices and other items I don’t use often and again cuts down on waste. I think it has also cut down on my grocery bills. Time well spent.

I don’t precook and prep my meals, as I know many do, for two reasons. First, I’m not a fan of reheated food. I like my food fresh and truly believe it’s healthier that way. Secondly, I’m not a fan of the microwave oven. I prefer my food cooked and heated the old fashioned way. I worry about the effect of the microwave on my health so I try to significantly limit using it.

The only thing I precook is chicken. I like to buy and roast on Sunday a whole, fresh organic chicken. I roast it, cut it up and place in the refrigerator for the week. I use the breasts and thighs during the week for salads. I also use it for quick skillet meals for dinner. My husband likes to pick on it during the week as well.

Another change I’ve made this month is focusing on my ingredients. As an educator I know that analyzing and focusing on one change can have a strong impact on my progress. I realized that I was eating healthy, but there were some ingredients I could makeover to lighten things up a bit. First, I like to eat chicken salad and tuna once a week for lunch. I had justified using mayonnaise because I used it so infrequently. I never use light versions of food as I believe them to be less healthy choices – read your ingredients! I finally found a substitute that I like and feel tastes comparable. I mix two tablespoons or organic Greek plain yogurt (I don’t use light or fat free). I use Stonyfield and find it smooth and not bitter. I mix in organic Dijon mustard. It tastes like mayonnaise and is so much healthier! Here’s my chicken salad recipe –

2 tbs organic Greek yogurt plain

1 tsp organic Dijon mustard

chopped celery and 1/4 cup halved organic grapes

4 oz chopped chicken

chopped fresh organic parsley

Mix the yogurt and Dijon. Add all ingredients together and mix to coat with yogurt/Dijon. Serve on romaine leaves (I make into wraps). Salt as needed.

This is such a delicious lunch. I’ve used this mayonnaise replacement in egg salad as well. I may never need mayonnaise again!

Another ingredient makeover was made this month. No more chemical and sugar laden coffee creamer for me! I’ve shared this recipe before, but here’s my bullet coffee recipe. Filling, healthy and energizing! I only drink one cup per day and count this as a snack when meal planning.

1 tsp org coconut oil and Kerry Gold unsalted butter

1 cup hot brewed org coffee

1 tsp org cinnamon and tumeric

Sprinkle of cayenne

1/2 tsp org honey and raw cacao powder

1 tbsp org collagen powder

1 tsp org vanilla extract

Combine all and blend to make yummy and frothy coffee. If not a coffee drinker substitute the coffee with a cup of matcha tea.

This swap removed a ton of sugar from this girl’s diet. I was a half coffee and half flavored creamer girl. The first time you make the coffee you may not love it. Play around with the ingredients and give your palate a bit to adjust to the taste. I love it and don’t even drink it the other way anymore.

One last tool I’d like to share is a balanced plate. Again, like educators know well, balance is the key to success. We can’t just teach something one way and expect to reach all learners. Likewise, we can’t just eat one food group and expect to be healthy. I find measuring, counting and complicated point systems annoying. I like simplicity in my life and keeping it real. Plating my food in a simple way helps keep me balanced. First, I don’t use large plates. My dinner plates are huge! I bought some super cute salad plates and use these for my meals. Keeps the portion size appropriate and visually makes me feel I’m eating more. Next, I use the plate to help me portion my balanced meal. Here’s my plating strategy, using simple fractional plan:

Divide your plate in half. One half of the plate should be chock full of vegetables, or salad greens. The other half, divide in half again. One quarter should be devoted to your protein source, and the other quarter devoted to your carbs. Simple, real and balanced.

I hope these tips help you stay on course to reclaiming your health. I’ve had a pretty solid January so far. Let me know if you’ve any tools you’d like to share that have worked for you.

Me, Myself and I

It’s so hard not to play the comparison game, especially with social media. I like to call Facebook – Fakebook. When you look through the beautiful pages all you see is perfection, perfect families and relationships. It’s no surprise that there are studies that now show that social media is causing increases in depression among some people.

Once I said to a friend, you photograph so beautifully. I mean I’ve never seen you take a bad picture. To which she replied, I’d never put it up if it wasn’t a good photo. Oh, wow I hadn’t thought of it that way. I had photos up that were less than perfect because I was keeping it real, capturing my journey. If someone tagged me and I cringed, I left it as I felt it was a testament to our friendship and that moment. I felt better hearing this though as I was beginning to hate photographs. Everyone takes a bad photograph but most were photoshopping their lives.

Another friend is struggling in her personal life. Her marriage is in a rough patch and her relationship with her daughter is non existent. She barely sees her. Yet, in looking at her posts one sees a seemingly perfect marriage and close mother daughter relationship. If you didn’t know the reality you’d think it was amazing. Reality, it’s smoke and mirrors. It’s rare photos of a smiling couple and shared photos of a grandchild sent to the mother who rarely sees her. One doesn’t seem to notice the mother and daughter are never photographed together. My friend is seeking to create on Facebook the life she’d much rather be living. And, who could blame her for that. Fantasy is far easier to live than the reality of a life in shambles.

I have another dear friend who is single. She tells me Facebook and Instagram can be overwhelming because it’s often a constant streamed reminder of all she has yet to find. Often she takes a time out from it.

For me, when I’m injured and not able to run, I find myself feeling left behind. I feel pressure to get back out there before I lose it all. I also admit to feeling some jealousy that others seem invincible and never get injured. It’s not like I’m wishing harm to them as I’m surely not. Rather, I’m self loathing the fact that my body failed me.

Currently I’m starting my third week of a healthy eating group. We participate in discussions on a private Facebook page. We share recipes and laughs. But there is also sharing of successes and sometimes I read others comparing their experiences to these results. For example, so far in two weeks I’ve lost five pounds. Honestly, I haven’t taken measurements so I’ve no idea of loss there. Others have posted losses of up to 14 pounds and many inches. Some in the group have followed the recipes to a t and lost nothing. Once again social media, meant to be supportive, is causing these people massive amounts of stress. There’s posts about leaving, giving up and just pure sadness.

All this stands as a reminder that reclaiming one’s health is a personal journey. If we are sharing our story, as I am, we must be honest and truthful. Life is not always a bed of roses and by not being open and honest, we miss the opportunity to connect and inspire many. It’s easy to inspire when we are winning, but it’s equally important to inspire when failing. Remember, it’s what we do when we fail that can serve as a true testament to the struggle. Others who are struggling will thank God that they are not the only ones. And, let’s never forget the struggle is real.

This week, I followed my menu and cooked clean and healthy. Friday night after work I met friends for dinner. I planned to make good choices on food and not to drink. Well, I didn’t order any fries or pasta or potatoes with my meal. I ordered a panini and planned to take half home for my hubby. I didn’t eat bread on the table as I was having a panini. I decided to have just one drink and stayed away from wine. I ordered vodka and tonic. Hmmm. Reality, I ate the whole panini and boy was it good. I ordered a second drink too. Oh well. Saturday, I went to visit my son and his girlfriend. My husband picked up a few bagels. First thought, not having one of those. Second thought, maybe just half. Reality, that was one good bagel.

I’m not beating myself up for my weekend. Life is made to be lived. There will be good choices and life choices. Life is far to short to pass up panini and bagels and enjoyment of food. This is MY journey and there will be bumps along the way. You don’t gain ten pounds back in a weekend. It’s just water weight. Eat clean the majority of the time and you’ll be fine.

It is my hope that we all remember that life on Facebook and other social media outlets is not always what it seems. Everyone is facing their own struggles. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other and you’ll be fine. Slow and steady wins the race. Compare yourself only to yourself and you’ll find strength there. This journey is long and in the end, it’s only with yourself.

One Week at a Time

As I started my new 30 day mind and body challenge I was full of hope. I had my meal ingredients purchased and organized. I’d made human connections in my Facebook group and had all my tools loaded on my phone. I downloaded Headspace and my ten day meditation plan to ensure I worked on my stress levels. I downloaded Pilates workouts to supplement my workout plan since I still can’t get my broken toes in running shoes. All set!

The first three days were considered a cleanse, or reset. Lots of organic green veggies and fruit. Tons of water. The plan calls for a gallon of water a day, which I know is ridiculously dangerous. Yes people, too much water can be dangerous. It can mess with your electrolytes and put stress on your organs. I drank as much as I could and shot for 60 ounces a day.

The first two days I had a mild headache, which I attributed to lack of my morning cup of coffee. Day two I got to try quinoa. That was a big mushy, messy fail. I threw it out and tried again with less water. I ate quinoa and mangoes the next day and it went slightly better.

I told myself going in that I, the pickiest eater ever known, would at least taste every darn recipe I was given. No preconceived opinions allowed if I’d never in my life tried the item. This decision was tested on day 3 when I was called upon to eat red beets!! Oh my gosh I have serious texture issues and those slimy red beets we’re going to be a huge challenge. Here’s the lunch menu I was given –

1 6″ sprouted while grain tortilla

1 tbs homemade hummus (yum)

Shredded red beets

2 tbs feta cheese

arugula

Spread hummus on tortilla. Add remaining ingredients. Roll and enjoy.

Excuse the foil as I was on the go. Now, the red was a lot for me to deal with as was the first bite. I wasn’t sure if I liked it or hated it but I thanked God for the feta and ate it. Phew got through that hurdle. Imagine my dismay when this darn wrap appeared on my lunch menu for the next day. Ugh. I put a little less red beets on the next day and have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Day 4 I had to try Bok Choy. Never ever would I have tried that! But, I said I’d at least try everything. I steamed it with carrots, added some turkey bacon. Actually it was a refreshing salad dinner that my daughter joined me in eating. Not bad at all.

Week one is now in the books. I’m down five pounds, which we all know is water weight. I’ve done my meditations daily and my workouts. I was true to the menu as I want to evaluate it. In complete transparency, I attended a retirement party yesterday. My food choices were good, but not the planned meals. And, I did have a complete and utter love affair with a bowl of Lays. Guess the saying is true, “Nobody can eat just one.” I had some help, but definitely indulged.

I was feeling kind of bad about that when I got a text from my daughter. She said, “Your skin looks great in that picture you shared. I may have to do that cleanse.” Those kind words bitch slapped me back on the plan. Five pounds and noticeable glow were quite motivating.

Today, I’m prepping my shopping lists and previewing my meals. I only see one test this week – Salmon. Remember, I have color and texture issues big time. Orange/pink fish are a double whammie. There is a vegetarian option that is offered that I may have to take. I have until I hit the market to decide.

Stepping outside that comfort zone is critical to success. If we truly want different results, we have to do different things. Hope your new year had gotten off to a healthy and happy start. For me it has and now I’m off to drink more water. Have an awesome week.

Comfort Zones

Many people will embark on new diet programs this month. January is the biggest money maker for these programs every single year. Have you noticed the increase in advertising on television lately for Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, gym memberships, etc. Anyone that goes to the gym regularly can tell you January is the month to avoid the place. There’s suddenly an influx of newbies for a few weeks and then things return to normal.

So many of us want to start fresh each year and vow to change our ways. This will be the year I get thin, healthy, rich, you name it we’ve vowed it. Unfortunately, if we don’t make realistic changes, in a few short weeks we will be right back where we started. Most times we blame the program we were using. For example, “Oh the food in Nutrisystem is just disgusting. I couldn’t possibly eat it.”, “Weight Watchers points are too confusing. It just doesn’t work!”, “The gym was just too crowded for me and I don’t like all those muscle heads in there anyway.” You’ve heard them all before and possibly even said a few yourself. But, guess what. The program is not the problem. The problem is us. If we are not true to the program, we lose the right to blame it for not working.

As a Literacy Coach, I used to listen to teachers tell me that Balanced Literacy was horrible, ridiculous and didn’t work. My response was – “But you haven’t even tried it, so how can you say that.” It’s the same with diet programs or health changes. If we change it, cheat, don’t follow it, then we can’t say it didn’t work. We have to be brutally honest with ourselves. We don’t know if it worked or not because we never stuck with it. We need to ask ourselves, Did we follow the plan as outlined? Did we make changes to it that could have impacted our results? Though I am not a fan of programs, I am honest with myself if I try one and get no results.

This month I am trying a 30 day challenge that includes meditation, exercise and clean eating – mind and body. It’s not a drastic change from what I’ve talked about before, but I am going to try for 30 days to eat clean and take care of myself emotionally. As you know, I broke three of my toes on Christmas Eve. I’ve been doing my best to get my workouts in and using the elliptical to keep my conditioning, but I miss my runs. If I’m not careful I could put on weight rather quickly. It’s just a fact of life that it takes six months to lose ten pounds, but one to two weeks to put them back on. That’s just how my body works. Coming out of the holiday eating frenzy, I’ve decided to detox my mind and body. 30 days of meditation, clean eating and reflecting on my goals. Decluttering my life by moving away from any negative influences. I just don’t need them, nor want them around. Focusing on what I do want in my life. I want to be happy, healthy and excited. I want to run that darn marathon this year and finish it smiling. I want to be fierce!

In order to accomplish these goals, I have to get my health in order. I need to clean up my act a bit and be truer to the idea that 80% of health results are based on what we put into our body. For far too long, I’ve relied on exercise to burn off the things I want to eat or drink. That’s fine but it doesn’t burn off the physical effect that stuff has on my body. Wine is just not good for me. Yes, I can have a glass every now and then, but I can’t have it every night. It’s just a fact. It doesn’t matter if I have only 4 oz as the experts recommend. It just doesn’t work for my body. Similarly, if I don’t eat enough vegetables or fruit, I’m depriving my mind and body of the fuel it needs to be strong. It’s not alright to skip it every day and think it doesn’t matter. It matters immensely. Protein matters, yes, but alone it’s not the answer. It needs the balance of the rest of that darn pyramid. Balance is key.

I’ve worked with a nutritionist through my last training cycle. I wanted to learn how to fuel my body for better running performance. I listened and learned, but then did what I wanted to do. I made changes and substitutions and told myself it’s alright because I will just run it off. I never blamed her for the fact that I can’t sleep at night, or that I am having hot flashes again. I know it’s what I’ve been eating and drinking and stressing over. I know that skipping lunch and eating junk instead at the office is not good. So, I will once again refocus my energy and clean up my act. I will be one of those January people starting over.

I’ve spoken about my jars before – the two jars that sit on my kitchen counter with beautiful blue stones. The stones represent the pounds I wish to lose to make running that marathon easier on my body. The empty jar is where I hope to move them. Reality is those stones have stayed put in that jar for a year now. Once in a while they move over, but then quickly they are right back where they started. I’ve got to get them over to the lost jar once and for all. I want to end this year with NO jars on my counter and nothing to lose. My jars are plain, but a friend recently sent a photo of hers. She took the jar idea and made it far fancier. Perfect visual reminders of what she’s trying to accomplish.

That little guy looks fierce! That’s my game face this year. What are you hoping to accomplish this year? What’s your plan?

Habits

So many of us head into the holidays full of excitement. We over indulge on many things, including food and alcohol. Then we vow to start a diet for the New Year. The cycle then begins anew. Have you ever wondered if they’ll come a day where you’re not in this exact same place? I know I have.

As I reflect on this past year, I’ve made great strides toward my healthy lifestyle. But, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about the extra ten pounds I’m still trying to shed. They still come and go like an old friend who never leaves. I guess it could be worse. In the past it was way more than ten.

So, as I head into this next year I’m keeping with my daily habits theme. If you change a habit, you have the ability to change your life. My latest habit is one I’ve been holding on to tightly. I’m talking about my dear friend – coffee. Heck I’m only two years into this addiction, must I give it up already? Most of you’ve had years of indulging. Well, the answer is no! I don’t have to give up coffee at all. Rather, I have to rethink the way I drink it. I’m a half coffee, half flavored creamer kind of girl. I justify it by trying to only have one cup a day.

What I fail to acknowledge is the amount of sugar and chemical my creamers contain. I’ve tried the heathy ones, but seriously they are disgusting. Why bother. I’ve thought of doing artificial sweeteners with half and half but I don’t want to use those sweeteners. I’ve had a long talk with myself about this. Tea just doesn’t do it for me in the morning. I’m not looking for caffeine, I’m looking for taste.

This past week I decided to give this habit another look. I tried once before with the bullet coffee, but hated it. I watched some videos and read some articles and settled on a new recipe. I whipped some up and I’m drinking it every day. I don’t feel the huge surge of energy that’s talked about, but I do feel better about my chemical intake. Not one drop of creamer in the past week and I don’t miss it. I’m so hoping this new habit is the start of my next phase on this healthy journey.

Heres the recipe if you’d like to give it a try. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

1 cup hot organic coffee brewed

1 tsp coconut oil, raw honey and collagen powder

1 tsp raw cocoa powder and grass fed Kerry gold butter

1/2 tsp turmeric, vanilla and cinnamon

Combine all in blender of choice. I use vitamix. Blend and enjoy. It’s creamy and delicious. The fats are healthy for you, but don’t overdo it.

The recipe can also be adapted for hot chocolate. You’d just substitute two tablespoons of raw cocoa and cup of hot water for the coffee.

One day and one habit at a time, together we can live healthier.

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