Striving for Health & Simplicity

Wow! Today is the start of Week Three of our Healthy 2019 challenge! It's hard to believe we're already a third of the way through the strict 6-Week Eat to Live plan! The last two weeks have been amazing. They've been filled with hard work but the results have shown that that hard work has paid off! Non-Scale Victories: Loser Fitting Clothes More Energy Mood Stability Decreased Aches & Pains Measurement Victories: Down 3.8lbs  Down 1.25" The measurement victories are most likely a little bit off. I wasn't able to weigh in when we started on January 1st so my last weight/measurements are from December 24th. I know I gained weight and inches between Christmas and New Years so I would guess I've lost more weight and inches then my numbers are showing me. Here's to another successful two weeks!

I have to be honest, this second week has been really hard! Both E and I came down with a cold over the weekend. I had 16 dinner guests over on Sunday night which was amazing, but I had to make myself a different supper leaving me feeling like I was missing out. Despite the challenging week I still managed to stick with the plan 99% of the time. I did have some meat in one of my lunches, but other then that I was pretty strict despite not feeling well! We had some visiting on deck this weekend which is why you're seeing this post late! I will try and get into the habit of writing them on Thursday nights! On deck for Week Three are a couple new things, I need a change and I feel like if I keep eating the same thing I'm going to snap. Week Three Sunday: Breakfast-Weekend Smoothie  Add additional frozen fruit & some Avocado Lunch- Tofu "Egg" Burrito Making a batch of Tofu Eggs, adding some veggies & placing it in a wrap.  Supper-Mushroom Strogan...

It's hard to believe that it's been six months already since our bundle of joy came into the world! He's changing each and everyday. It's amazing to watch the different skills developing. The time is just flying by! Prior to getting pregnant I succeeded in loosing a very large amount of weight. It was the first time for as long as I can remember that I was happy in my own body. I felt confident in how I looked, my skin was in the best condition it's ever been, my emotions were the best they have ever been, and the number on the scale was just a bonus! During my pregnancy I gained 60+ pounds, my emotions and skin were a mess. I unfortunately had the mentally that I was pregnant and could do whatever I wanted to. That was wrong, I've been paying the price since giving birth. My struggle with body image in the last six months has been at one of the highest points since I was a teenager. When life gets chaotic or messy we all seek comfort in something, unfortuna...

It's often said that the days are long but the weeks and months are short. This is very true for the last six weeks! It's hard to believe that I jumped back on the healthy bandwagon six weeks ago already. Instead of putting all my energy and time into the number on the scale for these past six weeks I wanted to focus on six specific non-scale items. Other then on one occasion I was able to keep these goals as my primary focus. In the last six weeks I have acheived being able to wear my wedding bands again, facial hair growth has decreased significantly, I am fitting into pre-pregnancy clothes more comfortably, and my emotional health has improved dramatically. I will be continuing to work on the reduction of PCOS symptoms and expanding my cooking/baking skills. I am extremely happy with what I've accomplished in the last six weeks despite not following the strict six week plan. I hope that I will be able to put my focus into another six weeks and follow it strictly once...

Three weeks have flown by! It's hard to believe that on Monday I finished Week 3 of my Eat to Live postpartum journey. When I began this journey I didn't realize the number of events that we had going on through the first six weeks(when I'm strictest) of my journey. There have definitely been difficulties in regards to ensuring I stick within the six week guidelines, but I've managed to do it with only a few pieces of meat thrown in! I promised myself that for the first six weeks I would focus more on the non scale victories then the numbers on the scale. In the last three weeks I've noticed and celebrated the fact that: I can wear my engagement ring again!  I've been able to pull some more clothes out of storage & they have been fitting better!  I'm crying significantly less! My moods have improved greatly! I have a lot more energy! I feel pretty awesome that in just three weeks I've been able to accomplish these non scale victories! I...

September is often treated as another time to make resolutions and goals. It's the time of year when we are settling into new routines. One of the new routines that's often started is eating healthier. It was my original plan to join those in starting out a new routine in September, things change and I started changing my eating habits two weeks ago. Restarting my Eat to Live during while there were still a few weeks of summer left was difficult. Many opportunities to stray from my guidelines presented themselves, each time I was successful at avoiding them though! One of my biggest challenges in terms of eating within my guidelines right now is eating out. I thought that trying to stay within my guidelines while being home on maternity leave would be difficult. It hasn't been as hard as I imagined, thankfully! I've watched the scale drop 6.8lbs and 4.25" in the last two weeks, that's enough motivation to keep me going! 

One week ago I had no desire to begin the Eat to Live 6-Week Journey before Labour Day. I wanted to enjoy the final weeks of junk food before getting serious about my nutrition again. My mind and body had other thoughts. I will be beginning the journey once again on August 20th. During the six weeks I hope to focus on the below goals, instead of the number on the scale. Wedding Bands-Be able to wear my wedding bands again. Facial Hair- Decrease amount of unwanted facial hair. Clothes-Fit into Pre-Pregnancy clothes more comfortably.  PCOS Symptoms-Reduce the symptoms from PCOS(hair loss, irregular cycles, etc). Emotional Health-Reduce anxiety and regulate postpartum hormones.  Cooking/Baking Skills- Expand skills and knowledge to include healthier alternatives.  I will once again post my weekly menus, weekly results, and recipes that I find helpful that aren't in the Eat to Live cookbook. I hope you'll join me!

The first week of our Summer Edition of Eat to Live is complete! I managed to have salads with both lunch and supper every night, have zero treats from Tim Hortons, and increase my water consumption. Those are all the things I was targeting for last week! Let's hope I can keep it up this week. Groceries are bought and week two meals will be prepped tomorrow! Monday: Breakfast: Smoothie(1/2C Frozen Blueberries, 1C Almond Milk, 1/2 Banana, Handful of Spinach, 1T Ground Chia Seed, & 1T of Ground Flax Seed) Lunch: S: Chick Pea Salad & Unsweetened Apple Sauce R: Leftovers from Sunday Supper: Tossed Salad & BBQ Steak Tuesday: Breakfast: Smoothie(1/2C Frozen Blueberries, 1C Almond Milk, 1/2 Banana, Handful of Spinach, 1T Ground Chia Seed, & 1T of Ground Flax Seed) Lunch: S: Chick Pea Salad & Unsweetened Apple Sauce R: Leftovers from Monday Supper: Tossed Salad & Bean Chilli Wednesday: Breakfast: Smoothie(1/2C Frozen Blueberries, 1C...

Despite having access to fresh locally grown food summer can often be the hardest time to eat healthy. Since giving birth to baby E five weeks ago we have been in survival mood with meals. It's been a combination of the frozen meals I prepared/we bought and take out. That combination doesn't help with our emotional, mental, or physical health. It's time to get back on track! The groceries are purchased and the food is ready to be prepared for Week One of our Eat to Live Summer Edition! If you'd like to know what we are doing differently for our summer edition of Eat to Live you can find out in the previous post. Below is what's on dock for meals this week. Monday: Breakfast: Smoothie(1/2C Frozen Blueberries, 1C Almond Milk, 1/2 Banana, Handful of Spinach, 1T Ground Chia Seed, & 1T of Ground Flax Seed) Lunch: S: Chick Pea Salad & Unsweetened Apple Sauce R: Leftovers from Sunday Supper: Tossed Salad & Chicken Legs  Tuesday: Breakfa...

There are seasons for everything in life. Whether it's extra curricular activities we're involved in, projects we have on the go at home, or what's going on in our career. Our eating lifestyle should be a consistent but is often a season that comes and goes. The goal when I first became pregnant was to continue our Eat to Live lifestyle. Unfortunately with pregnancy exhaustion and pain quickly setting in this was the first thing to be dropped. It began taking too much time and effort to not only think of meals but prepare them. We never did pick the pieces back up. The weight gain from pregnancy shows that I let myself fall off the bandwagon. Individuals would say that's okay because breastfeeding helps to burn so many calories. For a variety of reasons E isn't a breastfed baby, although heartbreaking at first I've come to find great peace in this. Robin and I are gearing up to once again begin the Eat to Live Challenge. We will be making adjustments for the...

Baby Munroe is definitely a carbs baby! I have unfortunately fell into the carb way of life once again. I believe it's a combination of being pregnant which is causing me to crave carbs, and the fact that craving carbs is one of the side effects of PCOS. Needless to say, it's been a difficult journey to remember that I don't need to stuff my face with carbs everyday. Somedays are definitely easier then others. Unfortunately I've been dealing with severe back pain, and crazy swelling for the last number of weeks. This has made it difficult to ensure I'm making smart food choices, and getting enough exercise in. My goal for the upcoming week is to ensure I walk daily again, and cut the carbs during the week! One of my weakness' lately has been ice cream. I love a big bowl of ice cream! Which is not healthy, at all! After asking the Facebook world for suggestions I combined a couple and made the below delicious smoothie which is now my evening snack if I'm ...

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 Piz...

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 Sup...

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...

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...

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 P...

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...