Let's Eat Clean!

Have you ever heard the saying 'Abs are made in the kitchen'?  Well, it's true. We can go to the gym all day long, but if we are stoppin' off for fast food or just mindlessly eating we'll never see the benefit of our workouts.  My first 40lbs came off just by eating clean(now my body needs to break this plateau so it's time to step it up with more gym and tighter eating.)  Here are the 'rules'...no matter where you are in your progress follow these eat clean principles. Doing this will boost your metabolism and you'll be a lot less likely to mindlessly eat and binge.

Here is an example of a typical day for me: 

M1(7:30a.m.): 1/2c Oats (not instant), 4-6 egg whites

M2(10:30a.m.): Small handful of  raw almonds, apple

M3(12:30p.m.): 5oz chicken, 1/2c brown rice, green beans

M4(3:30p.m.): grapefruit, 2.5oz of tuna

M5(5:30/6:00): Salmon, asparagus

Water: 1gallon - up to 168oz

Coffee: 1c in the a.m. Black

Over the past two years I have successfully maintained my 40lb weight loss by eating clean all while still having a very active social life. I still have my cheat meals, nights out drinking, unstructured vacations, etc.. I am happy that I have been able to maintain my weight, but I don't want to stay here--I really want/need to lose another 20+lbs and build muscle. So, in order for me to do this--break this maintenance stage--I need to really stay consistent with a tighter diet and workout, which has been my biggest struggle. I hope to be able to post photos and offer more detail about my food and workouts... This blog is helping me stay accountable and focused. :-) 

So, the number on the scale has stayed between 171-178lb over the past two years, but, relying only on the scale as my form of measurement hasn't offered a true measurement of where I really am. When my workouts are ON my body really tightens up and I can fit in a size 8, but when my workouts are off my 8's don't fit so much and I find myself in 10's and 12's ALL while staying between that weight range---crazy right!!! Right. This has been SO discouraging over the past two years-SO- It's time to focus on other measurements.  Like my fat percentage. 

SO, I got myself one of these! A Caliper. The 'Skin Fold Caliper Test', this is a pretty reliable test. SO cheap and SO simple. You can get them at most sporting good places-- I purchased mine on amazon.com. Okay, my BF is 29.% too high for this girl!! Instead of praying to the scale every morning for it to budge I will now use my caliper, measuring tape and clothes to judge my progress.

Finally, I wanted to share what I am doing in the gym. Jamie Eason and bodybuilding.com have created a great 12wk plan, see here: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-eason-livefit-trainer.html I plan to use a variation of this, while bumping up cardio. 

Thanks for listening-I just wanted to quickly get down what I have been up to over the past three days.... better detail to come!! 

xo