Striving for Health & Simplicity

Hello readers! Thank you for your patience over the last few months with the silence. Towards the end of my Six Week Eat to Live Journey we found out we are expecting! There are still days that we find this hard to believe! The first trimester brought with it sheer exhaustion, plus the adjustment to having a puppy. Only when December came did I start to begin to feel more human, right in time for Christmas! Now that the Christmas celebrations have ended we're in full planning mode for a fun and busy 2018! Supplies are purchased & ready for assembly!  One of the ways we're getting ourselves organized is our Home Binder! The binder includes categories like: Budget Menu's Recipes to Try Coupon's Christmas 2018 Planning 2017 Budget & Actual Spend 2018 Budget 2018 Gift Ideas Important Information Birthday's Password Cheat Sheet Contact Information I love the outside of our binder!  Not including the ink for the printable pages i

I don't know about you, but sometimes I have a really hard time staying on track with my goals! I need a good kick in the butt sometimes! Now is one of those times. This coming Monday to Friday I will be heading back to the strict eating. I ask you to consider joining me on this challenge, today is a perfect day to work towards tomorrows goals! My goal this week is to go completely refined sugar free. I'm going to provide you with the meal plan I'll be using for the week, along with some additional snacks that you might like if you're a snacker! Monday: Breakfast: Smoothie (1/2C Blueberries, 1/2 Banana, 1T Ground Flax & Chia, 1C Almond Milk & Handful of Spinach) Lunch: 6 Bean Chilli, Unsweetened Applesauce & 2 Clementines Supper: Vegetable Stir Fry with Bean Sprouts & Pork Chops Tuesday Breakfast: Smoothie (1/2C Blueberries, 1/2 Banana, 1T Ground Flax & Chia, 1C Almond Milk & Handful of Spinach) Lunch: Bean Chilli, Unsweetened Apple

It's hard to believe that 6 weeks has come to a close! It's amazing how fast time flies. The last 6 weeks have had their ups and downs. They have been filled with both scale, and non scale victories. Non-Scale Victories: There were times in the last 6 weeks that I fell off the wagon, but it became so much easier to get back on! I might have eaten out a few times, but I always made sure it was close to guidelines, and my next meal followed the guidelines. Before the Eat to Live Journey I would often fall off the wagon and it would last a couple days. I can walk out of a store without a dark chocolate bar/bag of chips. I had gotten to a point in my journey that I would convince myself that as long as I had a dark chocolate bar, or the "healthiest" chips I could find that I was okay to buy myself a treat. Every single time I went to the store. I haven't done that once in the last 6 weeks!  Towards the end of our Magdalene Island trip(right before my 6 week jou

Only recently did I remember that I hadn't posted week five meal plans, my apologies! If you've been following along since the start of the journey you most likely have noticed that I keep my meal plans pretty similar. We're starting our final week of our Six Week journey tomorrow! Hard to believe! Breakfasts:   M-F: Smoothies (1/2C Blueberries, 1/2 Banana, 1C Almond Milk, 1C Spinach, 1TBSP Ground Flax  Seeds & Chia Seeds)  Saturday & Sunday: Fruit Smoothie (1C Frozen Fruit, 1 Banana, 1C Almond Milk, 1TBSP Ground Flax  Seeds & Chia Seeds) Lunches:   Monday-Friday: Too Busy to Cook Vegetable Soup (Page 168 of the Eat to Live Cookbook), Fruit   Salad, & Banana  Saturday & Sunday: Split Pea Soup or Chicken Noodle Soup Suppers:  Monday-Thursday: Large Tossed Salad or Veggie Stir Fry (Same ingredients as salad make in broth) Two servings of fruit for dessert.   Friday: Vegetable Pizza with Dairy Free Cheese & Sugar Free Sauce  

Thanksgiving is one of my favourite times of year! It's an opportunity to reflect on the things we are blessed to have, and a time to gather with loved ones. I'm extremely thankful for a wonderful supportive hubby, amazing parents, equally amazing in laws, and such a wonderful group of family and friends. That's just a touch on everything I have to be thankful for this year! Thanksgiving often comes with a family gathering or two which can make it difficult to stay on the healthy eating track! This is my second Eat to Live Thanksgiving, I am taking some of my experiences last year and turning them into positive learning experiences for this year. 1)Arrive Prepared: Make sure that you're prepared with beverages you can drink (flavoured water for me). Either make sure you are full enough that you won't partake in any snacking before the meal, or bring some snacks that fall within your guidelines. 2)Offer to Bring Dessert: Dessert is always my biggest weakness! I

Can you believe that week three of the six week Eat to Live journey has come to a close!? I can't believe that there's only three weeks left. We're halfway there! The changes both on the scale and in life are amazing! A few non scale victories I've noticed is a better overall feeling, far less cravings, clearer skin, feeling fresh in the morning, and probably hubby's favourite I'm being more adventurous in my cooking. All of the non scale victories contribute to an overall happiness and joy, that's even more present then it was three weeks ago! The results for week three a pretty awesome! Weight:  -2lbs Bust: NC Waist: -0.75 Thighs: -0.5" Since starting Eat to Live on September 11th I have lost a total of 8.6lbs and 4". In just three weeks! That's amazing! Stay tuned for a Thanksgiving post soon!

Unfortunately week three wasn't the greatest. There was a death in the family and as an emotional eater that had the ability to completely throw me off. For the most part I stayed within the guidelines. A couple times in week three I could be found having some salted nuts/seeds or crackers but that's the worst it got! Everything is prepared to have a rocking week four! Breakfasts:   M-F: Smoothies (1/2C Blueberries, 1/2 Banana, 1C Almond Milk, 1C Spinach, 1TBSP Ground Flax  Seeds & Chia Seeds)  Saturday: Fruit Smoothie (1C Frozen Fruit, 1 Banana, 1C Almond Milk, 1TBSP Ground Flax  Seeds & Chia Seeds)  Sunday: TBD (We'll be at my in-laws for the night Saturday celebrating Thanksgiving!) Lunches:   Monday: Leftover Chick Pea Salad  Tuesday-Friday: Crock Pot Mushroom Chilli (Page 176 Eat to Live Cookbook) with 2  servings of fruit   Saturday & Sunday: 1oz Raw Almonds & 2 Servings of Fruit Suppers:  Monday-Thursday: Large Tossed Salad or

Every single Tuesday morning since September of 2016 I've knocked on my parents door at some crazy hour in the morning to be weighed/measured. This helps me stay accountable, and know the consequences of any decisions I've made! The results are in for week two and I'm pretty happy with them! Weight:  -1bs Bust: NC Waist: -0.25" Thighs: -0.25" I believe that seeing a smaller weight loss/inches lost is extremely healthy for week two! Especially because this is my second round of the six week Eat to Live. I'm happy with the numbers. We're halfway through Week Three almost, and it's been a tougher week! I'm gearing up for a really strong week four before Thanksgiving!

It's hard to believe that we're almost entering our third week of this Eat to Love journey! We're almost halfway there! Breakfasts:   M-F: Smoothies (1/2C Blueberries, 1/2 Banana, 1C Almond Milk, 1C Spinach, 1TBSP Ground Flax  Seeds & Chia Seeds)  Saturday & Sunday: Fruit Smoothie (1C Frozen Fruit, 1 Banana, 1C Almond Milk, 1TBSP Ground Flax  Seeds & Chia Seeds) Lunches:   Monday-Friday: Crock Pot Mushroom Chilli (Page 176 Eat to Live Cookbook) with 2  servings of fruit   Saturday & Sunday: 1oz Raw Almonds & 2 Servings of Fruit Suppers:  Monday-Thursday: Large Tossed Salad, Coleslaw w/Pecans & Raw Almonds. Two servings of fruit for dessert.   Friday: Vegetable Pizza with Dairy Free Cheese & Sugar Free Sauce  Saturday: Unsure-I haven't decided here as we have a staff event that evening so it will most likely end up being something take out.  Sunday: TBD(Will be added to next weeks plan!) I'm noticing that when

We started back on track with the 6-Week Eat to Live plan exactly 8 days ago. It's hard to believe how fast time goes! The results are in for week one and they're pretty amazing! Weight:  -5.6lbs Bust: -1.5" Waist: -0.5" Thighs: -0.25" A total weight loss of 5.6lbs with a total inches lost of 2.25" is absolutely amazing for week one! Struggles of Week One:  -Birthday dinner for my father in law, there was cake! I love cake! I didn't eat any though!  -Sweets around the office. Two of my coworkers brought in sweets, normally I have a hard time saying no but I avoided them!  -Staying on track on the weekend. I always find weekends the most difficult, but with everything carefully planned out I made out okay! Highlights of Week One:  -We had some amazing friends over for dinner Sunday, and they completely supported how I'm eating so we could all eat the same meal!  -Support and understanding. I always find the first two weeks of getting

After an amazing vacation on the Magdalen Islands an eating change was definitely needed! Week one has been tough. Life still goes on so there have been many temptations, but I've avoided them all. I might have gone through a ton of gum in the process, but hey I did it! Breakfasts:   M-F: Smoothies (1/2C Blueberries, 1/2 Banana, 1C Almond Milk, 1C Spinach, 1TBSP Ground Flax  Seeds & Chia Seeds)  Saturday: Blueberry Nut Oatmeal (Page 63 Eat to Love Cookbook)  Sunday: Leftover Blueberry Nut Oatmeal Lunches:   Monday-Friday: Too Busy to Cook Vegetable Soup (Page 168 Eat to Live Cookbook) with 2  servings of fruit   Saturday & Sunday: 1oz Raw Almonds & 2 Servings of Fruit Suppers:  Monday-Thursday: Large Tossed Salad with 1/4C Mixed Beans & 2 Serving of Fruit  Friday: Vegetable Pizza with Dairy Free Cheese & Sugar Free Sauce  Saturday: Garden Stuffed Vegetables ( Page 200 Eat to Live Cookbook)  Sunday: Quick Corn and Bean Medley (Page 15

Do you find yourself stopping at a fast food joint to pick up a quick bite to eat on your way home because it's faster? The below meal prepping tips will help you to get home and have dinner on the table in under a half hour! Tip One:  Containers! I cannot stress this one enough. If you're going to meal prep for the week you need to ensure that you have enough containers to hold everything. I often find myself using glass containers for my main food, and then plastic for our day to day lunches.  Tip Two: Meal plan! Without a weekly meal plan it will be hard to prepare for the week. Often I'll make my meal plan for a month at a time. After I've created the meal plan I will create weekly grocery lists once the flyers have come out in hopes of saving money! If a meal I was planning to have the following week has most ingredients on sale that week I'll move it to the current week.  Tip Three: Batch Cook! If you're making something that can be froze

There's no better way to send summer out then a family vacation to an area you have never been! While we are over here doing lots of hiking, and plenty of eating I'm working on being prepared for the beginning of Eat to Live on Monday.  Once I return back home I will create a better template to share meal plans, please be patient!  Breakfasts:   M-F: Smoothies (1/2C Blueberries, 1/2 Banana, 1C Almond Milk, 1C Spinach, 1TBSP Ground Flax  Seeds & Chia Seeds)  Saturday: Apple Supreme (Page 70 Eat to Live Cookbook)  Sunday: Leftover Apple Supreme Lunches:   Monday: Large Tossed Salad with No Oil Dressing  Tuesday-Friday: Too Busy to Cook Vegetable Soup (Page 168 Eat to Live Cookbook) with 2  servings of fruit  Saturday & Sunday: 1oz Raw Almonds & 2 Servings of Fruit Suppers:  Monday-Thursday: Large Tossed Salad with 1/4C Mixed Beans & 1 Serving of Fruit  Friday: Vegetable Pizza with Dairy Free Cheese & Sugar Free Sauce  Saturda

September is here! I absolutely love September! Whether it be New Years or the fall both are wonderful opportunities to set some goals and make some lifestyle changes. The fall is an opportunity to redeem routines that were lost when summer came a calling. A beautiful summer is often filled with eating out, BBQ's, and social events revolving around food. This was the case for my summer! Over the course of the summer I gained eight of the thirty-two pounds I lost back, along with a couple of inches. Not only have I noticed a weight gain, but also a mood change. Both the weight gain and mood change are caused by enjoying summer foods a little too much! It's time to set some goals and get moving! As of September 11th I will begin another 6 week Eat to Live journey. Eat to Live is an amazing nutrient rich program for quick and permanent weight loss. During the six week plan there are limits on how much you consume of certain foods, but unlimited amounts on others! Dairy produ

No one could have prepared me for how quickly things can change with PCOS. Beginning my Eat to Live journey helped many of my PCOS symptoms become regulated. Yet, all of a sudden everything went wonky. My symptoms of PCOS suddenly started popping up again. I attributed this to stress with the wedding, basically pushing it aside. The wedding has passed, I have settled into married life, and into our home yet more PCOS symptoms keep arising. Unfortunately the referral process to get in to see a medical professional could take months. It's up to me to once again figure out what my body needs. Two of the top ways PCOS can affect a women is through fertility and weight issues. Both of which I'm currently experiencing. It's incredibly hard to be a newly married twenty-three year old who without reason suddenly gained eight pounds, and stopped having a period. Nothing I was doing before has drastically changed. I am frustrated. I feel like giving in to all my cravings and eati

A few weeks into summer, and I've fallen off the bandwagon. One of the reasons I originally changed my lifestyle was that during summer of 2016 I gained a substantial amount of weight. A quick stop at a fast food joint when it was nice out, an ice cream here, or a gallon of pop there quickly added up! I swore that Summer 2017 was going to be different.  We're only a couple weeks into summer but it's already proving to be the same! I feel hope that I'm catching it early enough to ensure that the rest of summer doesn't follow suit. Unfortunately between getting married and the beginning of summer I've seen a weight increase. In hopes of combating this I have set four summer goals.  Goal One: Get back down to and maintain a weight range within 150-153lbs. Goal Two: Follow Eat to Live Monday-Friday and stay within boundaries on the weekends. Goal Three: Bring healthy options to all social events. Goal Four: Physical activity for at least 30 minutes

It's been a number of weeks since I've written anything in this space, for that I'm sorry. The last month has been filled with many exciting changes! As of the 10th of June we're officially married! We arrived back to our little home the day after our wedding and have slowly been adjusting to married life and working on doing the final unpacking of my stuff. It was a lot of work, and an emotional rollercoaster to move out of my childhood home! I plan to write a post in the coming weeks with information on summer plans, I can't wait to share with you!

Spring has sprung on the East Coast! We were greeted with spring like weather when we returned from Orlando last week. One of the many bonuses of working with your significant other is tagging along on their business trips, especially to such a wonderful place! After a week of eating whatever resembled some sort of healthy on various restaurant menus I am glad to be home and have control over what I'm fuelling my body with again. Our big wedding day is quickly approaching. I want to make sure I'm feeling my best leading up to that!  I struggle with eating salads. At one point I was known to highly dislike salads, almost to the point of refusing to eat them. I've gotten better, but I still have a long way to go! The recipe below is one of my absolute favourites. I get my daily requirements of beans, while adding some delicious spring/summer flavours to the salad! A huge shout out to a friend of mine for sharing this recipe with me.  Chick Pea Salad  1 Can of

A couple of weeks ago I posted the below picture on social media. This photo documents the biggest milestone thus far being reached. I had successfully lost thirty-two pounds and nineteen inches. The journey to reaching this milestone was not easy, but I'm incredibly proud of myself for reaching it. There were days I wondered why I was doing what I was doing. It's all been worth it though. The outpouring of love when I shared this photo was incredible, so thank you! September 19, 2016 vs. April 11, 2017 I wish before I started this journey that I had a better understanding of just how much it would change my life. My eating habits haven't been the only thing to change since starting this journey. There are multiple parts of life that I have noticed changing in the last seven months including my evening routine, weekend morning routines, and grocery shopping trips. One of the biggest aspects of my life to change has been socially. Before this journey it was a comm

Have you ever had the desire to spend hours in the kitchen creating a new recipe? I definitely have not! I'm not the type to experiment with cooking. I just don't feel comfortable enough in the kitchen. Thanks to many wonderful people for sharing the recipes they make I don't have to! Transitioning from eating the way the world does to a more natural healthier way is difficult, especially when you're not creative in the kitchen. I contribute a lot of my success in changing my diet to my wonderful significant other who does most of the cooking. I have become braver with trying new recipes as I discover a love for flavour. One of the most difficult parts about trying new recipes is knowing whether or not they will give you what you're looking for from that recipe. Below I've linked up to some of my favourite recipes that can be found being cooked/baked on a regular bases in our household! These are my go to recipes for lunches, gatherings, or just a treat. B

Have you ever had a to die for baked good!? I love baked goods. Not only do I love the baked good itself but I also love the creating part of baked goods. Ever since going sugar free I haven't really done too much baking. I knew that I needed to start experimenting with sugar free recipes or I would fall off the bandwagon. I recently discovered how amazing oat bars are, but I knew there had to be a way to make them without all that sugar! I have found an oat bar recipe that is amazing! I found this fantastic recipe over at Running with Spoons. You can find the recipe  here . There are many fantastic recipes on her blog, definitely a must follow blog!  I made some slight modifications to the recipe, and they still turned out fantastic! Instead of making the jam the night before I stuck it in the freezer to cool while I made the oat base. I swapped out honey for maple syrup, ground chia seed for whole chia seed, and baking soda with vinegar instead of baking powder. In the

One of the most annoying facts about PCOS is that it affects every woman differently. I was never one to share my journey with PCOS or even the fact that I had it. I felt incredibly alone in my journey with PCOS. I did not know any others around my age struggling with PCOS. This has changed recently, which in turn has helped me to be more open about my personal journey. Each of us will have our own individual journeys, but there are common parts of the journey for most of us. Often times the affects of PCOS are within our bodies, making it hard for others to understand there is something different about our bodies. These affects don't always impact our day to day life, but at times have the ability to do just that. My greatest personal struggle is the additional weight and how that affects me physiologically. Until recently I struggled on a daily basis with my body image, I never felt like I was beautiful, and I didn't feel that I could be completely loved because of how I wa

The start of our liturgical season Lent is tomorrow. Often times I give up the usual chocolate, extra cup of tea, etc but this year I wanted to do something different. I challenged myself to come up with sacrifices/add ons that were going to draw me closer to the people I love & God, and help others. Over the course of the next forty days I will be deleting my facebook/messanger app off my phone and only checking my account from my computer on the weekends, each day I will find one item in my home to donate to charity, and I will spend more time reading scripture each evening. Giving up Facebook: Limiting the amount of time spent browsing Facebook will give me the opportunity to not only spend more time with those I love but also give me the opportunity to find more creative outlets, especially in the evenings. An item a Day: As I prepare to be married this coming June I'm working on packing up my current apartment to move into our house, and I have a lot of stuff! I hope

The last seven years have been spent running a marathon, figuratively not literally of course! Seven years ago is when my life changed forever, it's when I was given answers as to why I was gaining weight at a rapid pace but couldn't lose it, why there was facial hair appearing in odd spots, and most importantly why my body just wasn't acting normal. I feel like since that day I've tried many different coping methods some better then others, yet none seemed to provide the results I was looking for. After a summer filled with hospital visits for iron infusions, unsuccessful doctors appointments trying to figure out why I was loosing iron so fast, and my family doctor mentioning my weight multiple times it was time for a change. I began my journey of Eat to Live on September 6, 2016 with the intention of loosing thirty pounds. Reaching that goal would bring me to my lowest weight yet, and with it hopefully health benefits. These five and a half months have seen many p

Have you ever gotten frustrated when you feel like you aren't moving anywhere? The last few weeks have been that way for me in regards to weight loss. Before getting into the struggles I'm facing with my weight loss, let's do a little recap! It's been a crazy couple of weeks with many changes. Shortly after Christmas I made the difficult decision to begin searching for a position outside of the company I was working for. It was not an easy decision, but it turned out to be a good one. I've been in a new role with a new company for two weeks, and things have been going extremely well! After three months of feeling like I was struggling to keep my head above the water I finally feel as though I am above water. I have been frustrated over the last few weeks with the plateau I've hit in loosing weight. Instead of seeing a consistent decline in weight I've started to see small decreases one week, and then gains the following week. For the most part I have sta

Have you ever stood on the scale but the number hasn't moved? Yet you feel like something changed that week. The year 2017 has started off with a bang! I can't believe we're already half way through January. I don't always want to be sharing the scale victories because I believe a weight loss or life style change journey has many different parts. My journey to a healthier life was brought on due to medical reasons, so the one goal I had was to get to the weight recommended, I didn't think about all the additional bonuses that would come along with that. Presenting you with my top five non-scale victories! 1) Awareness- As mentioned above my journey to a healthier lifestyle was brought on due to medical reasons. I did not realize when I started that I would have such success in creating a new lifestyle. It's a lifestyle I want others to know about, especially those with PCOS. Often my response to being asked why I'm doing this is just for health reasons

It's hard to believe that the year 2016 is officially over and we are into the year 2017! 2016 was filled with job changes, home buying, family members passing away, and engagement. At the beginning of 2016 I did not imagine that any of those events would happen, but it goes to show you that sometimes our plans are not always the plans we are meant to follow. 2017 will bring with it many more adventures and I can't wait! Many individuals have chosen words to carry them through the year 2017. Individual words for the year are a fantastic way to stay motivated! I've chosen the words health and gratitude to carry through this year. I want to create a culture of health and gratitude in my life and my home. The word health for me means that I will make choices in my everyday life that bring the best quality of life to my body whether it be physically, mentally, or emotionally. The word gratitude for me is a way to remember to be thankful for the everyday occurrences, no matt