Sunday, November 30, 2014

What I eat {while surviving the holidays}

Hi everyone!

I know I'm a day late! But like I've said before life happens but I will always get it done eventually! Promise:) 

Something I've learned since cleaning up my diet is that every day is not going to be a "prefect diet" day. But guys, IT SHOULDN'T BE! You need to have balance every single day. Now I'm not saying to binge on candy for 15 minutes every day and call that balance, but a twix a day isn't going to hurt you [thats my personal fav:)] it will actually help you. If you ever tired "clean eating" you know what I mean. You start an all clean food diet and on about day 5 all you can think about is ice cream or pie or cookies... so what do you do? Eat an excessive amount of whatever it is you are craving. 

This is why I started balanced-intake and intuitive eating. I eat the "not so clean" foods a crave every day.. but IN MODERATION, and I listen to my body. If it is 10 p.m. and I'm hungry I am going to eat. When that does happen I will eat something like a rice cake with pb, a little arctic zero, an apple, or puffins with almond milk. Those are my favorite late night snacks that dont leave me feeling heaving or bloating right before going to bed. 

SO. Over the holidays I enjoyed myself. I did not restrict what I ate but I made choices so that I wouldn't feel guilty, because lets be honest guys, no matter what the day of the year is, if you over indulge to the point where you feel bad physically, its going to make you feel bad mentally. I'm just being real. So on Thanksgiving, rather than eating 4 raviolis and 2 meat balls and just a little bit of turkey, I ate a large serving of turkey (IT IS GOOD FOR YOU) some mashed potatoes, green beans, TWO ravs, and one meatball. Its all about being balanced. Is that a healthy meal.. not really. But that is not what I was going for. I was aiming for something that would fuel my body and not leave me feeling uncomfortable and sick. I can honestly say there was not one time that day that I had that "too full" feeling.

I tried to merge the two topics I mentioned, so I am going to list a few things I ate for each meal along with snacks I have throughout the day {I eat every hour.. not kidding}.

Breakfast:
  • Proats (protein oatmeal): 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 c almond milk, 1/4 c water. (microwave 2 minutes then 30 second intervals [about 4-5 times]so it doesn't boil over) Add 1/3 scoop protein and stir, microwave for another 30 seconds then top! I top mine with 1 tbsp cookie butter, Enjoylife mini chips and agave nectar.. DELISH
  • Savory or sweet omelette: 5-6 tbsp liquid eggs white and either mrs. dash spicy seasoning and hot sauce OR cinnamon, vanilla extract, and 1/2 packet of stevia. Be creative with toppings:) I usually also have a piece of Ezekiel toast with that!
  • Over night oats: 1/2 c oats, tbsp chia seeds, 1/2 c almond milk, 1 packet of stevia. I add a bunch of different things to it too so again.. be creative. And i usually make it in an empty pb jar. 
Lunch:
  • Shredded chicken (or whatever meat you have) and fat free Pringles: Usually one small chicken breast, shredded, topped with mrs. dash extra spicy seasoning, and 15 Pringles ( the serving size lol
  • Ezekiel toast with shredded chicken and hot sauce. ill usually add string cheese and fruit to that or a greek yogurt (my favorite brand is dannon light and fit 80 cal).
  • Spaghetti squash with a wedge of laughing cow light swiss, cheddar popcorn seasoning, and garlic salt and pepper.
Dinner:
  • Tilapia with tomato sauce and rice. Simple as that. Delicious.
  • Grilled chicken, Sweet potato, and corn.
  • Salmon and green beens.
  • Roast beef with steamed potatoes and green beans.
I didn't elaborate on those very much because, welll, they are what they are hahah:)
I usually indulge a little for dessert. Something like an ice cream sandwich, banana ice creams, little debbies christmas tree cake (my weakness) or left overs right now!

Snacks:
  • Fruit. AS MUCH AS I WANT. Yes it has sugar but it is natural sugar and you body can and will use it. Some people may disagree, which is fine, but that is what I eat. I love it.
  • Pork Rinds. Low cal, high volume, low carb. I love them.
  • Fiber one brownies and cookies. I eat packaged foods. Not a ton. but I do, and I believe it is perfectly fine.
  • QUEST BARS. love. the end. (I can't wait to try the s'mores OMG)
  • Low fat string cheese
  • NUTS. Cashews, almonds, pistachios. In moderation tho, they are high in fat... healthy fat. But still. Too much of anything is not good.

So guys. There it is. This was long so if you stuck around, thanks for reading:) I hope this helped guys. I am not a nutritionist. I don't claim to be. I'm just sharing with you guys what I eat from day to day. I am okay with it if you disagree with something I say. Everyone has opinions. I would also LOVE to hear some of you guys' favorite foods for any meal!

LOVE YOU ALL!



















Monday, November 24, 2014

About me

Hey guys! So this is my first time even doing a blog, so please excuse me if the layout and such comes out weird. But I figured my first blog post should tell a little about me.. 

Let's start with the basics.. My name is Jenna. I am 20 years old, and am starting my RN I
in January :)

I live in a small area about 40 minutes outside of Pittsburgh. I've lived here my entire life, but I've also moved about 12 times including to and from 2 colleges. It's a very small area and I'd bet if you asked anyone else how they feel it's this... A love hate relationship. I love where I'm from and my friends and family here, but at the same time it is not a super exciting place with a bunch of fun things to do lol. But living very close to the city is awesome, so we figure things out:)

I am pretty much an only child.. I have a half brother but unfortunately I don't get to see him often because he lives in Tennessee with his family (he is 33). My mother is amazing so thankfully I didn't end up with the stereotypical "only child syndrome" of being selfish and bratty.. Not saying all only children are, but if you are an only child I KNOW you've heard that assumption more than once haha! But hey, you can't judge a book by its cover right?

I'm not going to go into a bunch of minor details about my life. I am extremely blessed in every way. I love God and I know through Him and with Him all things are possible. Do I go through hard times and struggle, of course I do. But I have a wonderful support system through my family, friends and boyfriend that can get me through anything. I know one thing for sure though.. I would not be even close to the person I am today without my mother. She has taught me everything I know and made sure I became a loving, well-rounded person. I couldn't be more thankful for that. She is my rock and I don't know what I would do without her.  

Okay, so that is me. A little bit of inside to why I am the way I am and where I came from.. I don't want to make this too lengthy. But if you guys want I can do another post going into more detail about my fitness journey, since I've talking about it a little on IG.

Thanks for reading guys!
Love you all!
Jenna