My Food & Exercise Confession

You need a partner.
A goal.
Have you tried growing your own veggies?
That is satisfaction.

Try zumba. zumba is so very fun and it burns calories too.
Try broccoli with cheese sauce.
Try aspargus bits with cheese sauce.
Butter and garlic so a long way.

use these items to make your veggies more flavorful. I guarantee it will help!
Good LUCK!

One of the things I am doing with my girlfriends right now is a group challenge. We are all putting in 10 bucks and challenging each other to lose 10 pounds. The first one of us to lose the 10 pounds gets the money! Actually, the money will be in the form of a gift card to someplace the winner likes.

You could do the same with exercise, or eating a certain amount of new healthy foods a day. It might give you an added incentive.

Btw, I adore broccoli. But believe me I have many other vices!

We, humans, can’t digest grains – because they’re coated in phytic acid. This includes wheat (whether it’s whole wheat or not, oats, etc….everything but rice). As a result – most of the bread we eat can’t be digested and just sits on our bodies, screw up our digestion, metabolism, etc.

The only way to deal with phytic acid and remove it is to soak, sprout or ferment your grains. Hard to do when you buy a loaf of bread at the store, UNLESS it’s sourdough. Real sourdough bread (ingredients will not include yeast – should be simple: flour, water, sea salt (possibly a sourdough starter) is sour because the flour/wheat was first soaked and fermented – making it totally digestible.

If you switch all of your bread to sourdough and eat rice as your grain (whole foods has great rice pasta), it will make a huge difference.

I’d also suggest taking a powerful probiotic every day. Not only is it great for your immune system, but if you’ve got the right stuff to digest all of the food you eat, it will go a long way towards helping you be healthy.

Danielle, I know your pain girl! For me, the answer is meal preparation. I have to create a meal plan every week that includes main dish, veggies/fruit and side. I even plan out my snacks so I don’t skip the apple, but rather grab a handfull of chocolate chips AFTER the fruit (reward;)

As far as exercising. I so get where you are coming from! You have to just build a routine around something simple like a walk. Try to walk 15 minutes away from your home and 15 minutes back, 5 days a week. That’s it. I am totally happy to start an accountability partnership with you Good luck!

you KNOW I could ramble forever and ever and ever.

if you wanna email me–DO!

for me it was all about the creation of a fitness mission statement (truly) just like I have spiritual and business and family.

then I worked the smaller goals underneath that FMS (yes ma’am. ebook coming…some day ), grabbed a few accountability partners and was off.

more than a few snags along the proverbial way but you will have that AND, for me, its all part of the journey.

xo xo

carla

Ok sweet Danielle,
You are much like myself. When it comes to exercise, maybe its hard to get motivated, easily side tracked, but always glad when you do it, and always relieved when its over. I find it hard to stay consistent as well so why not work like your body does. Some people are like your husband who can wake up every day and do the same thing…… Don’t be consistent with what you do. Maybe one day take the kids swimming and tread water for 30 mins while they swim, walk at different times of the day, ride a bike with your kids, go to a kick boxing class, do pilates, jump rope, garden for a day squatting and lifting raking and the like, go hiking and so on and so on. When you mixed it up it becomes less of a chore, less of a bore and more of a score for you in the exercise department. As you get older, which I read you say you were old about yourself, ummmmm I don’t think so, you can still get a work out doing simpler things if that makes sense. I run/walk at least three times a week and have noticed a difference in many different areas, but I also give my body days to recover by doing other things. You need that, but don’t use it as an excuse not to do something on the days of recovery.
As far as food, I too am a breadaholic, but I also love fresh veggies. There is a big difference. Isagenix has some really great products that insure that you are getting the vitamins you need along with a product called SuperFruits with Aloe E….really great products. I think sugar is a factor in your diet from the things you say you gravitate towards, so first thing you would need to get off of is sugar……..refined sugars. Julie is right about rice and the wheat thing. I like to saute onioin, which you can get your sugars from, and celery then mix in cooked organic brown rice and or white rice with the onion and celery. It is really tasty. Grilled veggies are really good as well as grilled fruits. Of course I love raw veggies for the crunch sprinkled with a bit of vegesol and I am good to go. We really don’t know what fruits and veggies taste like because the foods we get in the stores have been picked before ripening therefore the phytochemicals that are released in the last weeks of ripening are mostly not there. Don’t know if they have anything to do with flavor, but maybe, but. Main thing is we are not getting from our foods what we should nor do they taste the way they were intended. Have you ever tasted a carrot right out of the ground? It’s like candy its so sweet. The carrot that come out of our little plastic bags……well I think you get my point.
Try growing a garden and you will never feel the same about veggies again. I eat green beans as a snack on the way home from camp where we have our garden….they are so sweet. Hope that helps. You know you don’t need a huge plot of land to grow veggies…….a plastic baby pool with holes in the bottom will do the trick.
Take care.
B†
@madreminutes

my thoughts are many but b/c my kids were fighting as I was watching your vlog I may say something that goes against your thinking. sorry in advance.

Your struggles are the same as mine. (although I do love some veggies!!!)

Exercise for me is a battle. I hate it. I only feel good when it’s done. I try to do it with a partner. I try to publicly tell people (even if it’s on twitter) that I’m going to work out so I fulfill my promise. I like Jillian’s 30-Day Shred video b/c it’s only 20 minutes long. I can do it no matter the weather and I don’t need a sitter. It’s gotten me real results. I didn’t need to join a gym. All I need is a mat/towel and hand weights.

As far as eating—we all have our weaknesses. However, I’m a firm believer in moderation (which doesn’t mean i don’t binge sometimes on cake/cookies/etc)…I also try to make small substitutions here and there to make baking things better for me/us—-like instead of using oil in a recipe, use applesauce. Substitute a bit of whole wheat flour for some of the white flour.

Watch “Food, Inc.” Read Jonathan Safran Foer’s “Eating Animals.” You will think more about where your food comes from, what’s in it, and what’s important.

As for veggies—have you never enjoyed a baked sweet potato with some cinnamon and a bit of brown sugar on top? Or what about a sweet corn casserole? ROasted butternut squash? all very yummy. It’s okay to not like some veggies. But having them plain definitely decreases their appeal for sure!!!! As for broccoli—I like to toss it with olive oil, kosher salt, pepper, and roast it in the oven. Then top with some parmesan cheese. I also like to roast baby carrots with honey and a little cinnamon. My hubs makes a killer mashed cauliflower that would fool you into thinking it’s mashed potatoes. What about some fresh green bean with slivered almonds and lemon juice?

I would start by searching recipes….think about things you DO like…..and go from there. As far as your weaknesses, allow yourself them….if you deprive yourself, you will crash and burn. Have one small piece of cake. And if you binge, remember the next day is a new day.

We all go in fits and spurts and there’s no question that a partner greatly helps. My hubby is often my partner, or sometimes a friend….

Hope some of this helps. I love Rachel Ray cookbooks….also Ina Garten/Barefoot Contessa, and Giada de Laurentiis…..

Great vlog, so happy @ShellyKramer introduced me to you!

Danielle,
First and foremost I have to say how brave it is to put yourself out there and ask for help about this. It is hard, I get that. That said, YES, I like broccoli and I LOVE asparagus. One of the things that makes it so easy for me to LOVE vegetables is knowing what they do for my body. When we really understand what the crappy stuff does to us, it can truly be a wake-up call.
When it comes to vegetables and your dislike of them, you have to get really creative with the way you cook them. Roasting or grilling makes so many taste truly amazing. My favorite way to cook asparagus is just tossed in olive and sprinkled with salt and pepper, then roasted in the oven. So darn good! Try commiting to one change per week so as not to overwhelm yourself. Right now I as I write this (well, as of last night) I have commited to stop eating cheese. I LOVE cheese! Do you know why we love it? Because of it’s fattening-ness. There are other changes I plan to make, but that is one for this week.
As far as exercise, you have to look at it as important as taking a shower or brushing your teeth……because it really is! I love the idea of commiting to 15 minutes a day to begin with. You will set yourself up for success that way, rather than failure.
Okay, that’s my two cents…..or twenty.

I got a personal trainer and it changed my life. I work out with him like twice a week and do cardio in between. No one would ever push themselves like a trainer does. I also do Weight Watchers (online) and stick to it as much as possible. WW is the only thing that has every helped me lose weight because it teaches you how to eat the right portions of things without depriving yourself of things you like. It just makes you more conscious of what you eat. The nutritionist at my trainer’s gym said don’t ever do a diet that excludes an entire food group (like no carbs, etc). You need everything, just the right amounts of everything (and the right kind of carbs, sugars, etc).

I also am not a huge fan of veggies. I love a good salad prepared for me, but I never make them on my own!

One of my methods for healthy eating is to eat as many healthy meals as a I can each week–but not stress as much when I can’t control a meal as well or just make a choice not too. Breakfast is almost always a healthy meal for me because I can almost always control it. This is a more realistic way of living for me.

I’m a big sugar fiend as well, but adding more protein to my diet has really helped control my appetite. Protein isn’t my favorite thing to eat but I am doing it because it works. Eggs in the morning, lean protein for lunch and dinner. It’s not as “fun” but I don’t crave sugar like I was. Again–I don’t do it 100% of the time, but maybe 65%-75%.

Exercise…I just love how it makes me feel. I am to the point that I CRAVE running because I need the endorphins to get me through the week. Some weeks are more regular than others, but when I’m grumpy or feeling out of sorts, I know the best way to snap out of it is a short run.

Good luck