Tag: healthy

Crab Salad in Avocado

crab salad

What is this Carb Cycling thing I have heard about?

Have you ever heard of Carb Cycling? Carb cycling is basically intermittently switching from hi,low, no carbs (and I mean good carbs not pasta, bread etc. more like carrots, brown rice and sweet potatoes). By eating this way it allows your body to burn fat while conserving muscle. All this hard work I can’t afford to lose any muscle. So, say in a week Monday is low carb, Tuesday and Wednesday is No Carb, Thursday is Low Carbs and Friday is High Carbs and again it’s (Carrot, peas, brown rice and sweet potatoes) not a pizza, french fry and burger buffet. You still have to stay within a certain caloric intake but it’s just the type of calories you are consuming. I am not a fan of diets. I am all about lifestyle changes and this sounds complicated, I know and that is why I have avoided it for so long. After lots of research I figured it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try and see the results are.

If it’s ain’t broke don’t fix it

Until now, I have been doing a heavy weight training routine and lots of HIIT a few girls in my accountability group are doing Carb Cycling and I have seen great results so I figured I would give it a try. I am in the second half of my weight loss journey. I can see the goal but still have a ways to get there. I figured that it wouldn’t hurt to try a new diet. So, like most things I jumped in and started researching and it became very intimidating. There are so many view points on it and I like my food to be simple. Anything complex and I just give up and reach for the yummiest thing I can find. Notice I didn’t say healthiest. I have come so far so why try something if it’s not broken. So, Carb Cycling eve came and I was on the verge of bailing. With a pep talk from my husband I created a week meal plan. I figured I won’t die in a week and trying something new never hurt. I never thought I could workout with 20 lbs weights or do push-ups or burpees and now those are a part of my routine.

Where do I begin?

So, I did it like all my other meal plans. I flipped to my Meal Plan page (You can download my meal planner here) in my Planner and started planning like I always do but a little bit differently. I usually eat mostly Produce and Protein and Complex Carbs after workouts and before noon. So, I excluded that. So, my meal plan looked like this for a Carb Cycle week:

CarbCycle Meal Plan

So not only did I try a new meal plan but I added a new meal to the menu. I didn’t want to go into total change meltdown but while scrolling on Pinterest I found this yummy recipe and it inspired my own. I basically took the idea and created my own ingredients and it turned out delicious and will be a regular on the meal plan. Have you heard of carb cycling before? What do you think? Could you do it?

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:16]

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Tags avocado, carb cycling, crab, easy lunch, healthy, low calorie, low carb, lunch, no carb lunch

christian mom Family Fitness Fitness and Health Weightloss Journey

Overweight Physically & Underweight Spiritually

Post author By De
Post date March 14, 2016
48 Comments on Overweight Physically & Underweight Spiritually

weight loss

First posted 12/2/2015

Embarking on a weight loss journey

God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though He is not far from any one of us, Acts 17:27

Weight loss is a journey. What happens to you when you realized the reason you are overweight physically and underweight spiritually? You do something about it. About 4 months ago, I got fed up with my physical appearance and embarked on a weight loss journey. The first month was easy mentally. I hired a virtual trainer, I was seeing results and was happy to find something that worked. Then, the next month came and that beginning puppy love started to wear off. I had more than being physically overweight to deal with; which is often the case when losing weight. I had the easy part handled what, when, who and where to do it. It was the why, that I need to work on.

What is my Why?

That’s when personal reflection came in. If I was to lose the ideal weight and achieve the body I wanted. What would it be for? There comes a point in your life especially when you’re on a spiritual journey that you need more than just outward appearances to fulfill you. What do you do, when you’re overweight physically and underweight spiritually? You tear down walls and rebuild from the foundation. I achieved this by figuring out my why?

why

To submit to such people and to everyone who joins in the work and labors at it. 1 Corinthians 16:11

There are the obvious, family and faith? I have 3 little girls that I have the responsibility of teaching how to be women and they are watching my every move. I want to teach them to honor their temple and be different in this world; Honoring and serving God. I am also trying to be the best that I can be for my husband as God says to do.

Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God. 1 Chronicles 22:19a

Underweight Spiritually

I needed to rebuild my foundation so, my second month I took time out daily to Honor My temple through prayer and challenge myself. Every day, this prayer challenge created a relationship with God and His word when it pertained to my issues with, exercise, nutrition and faith. It was an amazing opportunity that helped me clearly define my why? The Bible is the most detailed instruction manual for life. When women look into God’s word they often go to Proverbs 31 description of a worthy women. So, after 30 days of personal reflection I went to trusty old Proverbs 31 to see if my why aligned with “Women of Noble Character.”

She watches over the affairs of her household
    and does not eat the bread of idleness.
²⁸Her children arise and call her blessed;
    her husband also, and he praises her:
²⁹“Many women do noble things,
    but you surpass them all.”
³⁰Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Proverbs 31:28-30

weightloss

3 Reasons: Why my weight loss is more than appearance

These verses encompass everything I care about. My faith, my husband, and my children. Breaking these verses down gives me the definition I was looking for in my why, much like my workout plan and nutrition.

³⁰Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Proverbs 31:30

My faith

I interpret this verse as: A loving admiration for God that includes obedience to God and the commands His word.” As a Christian women that is something that I want to be synonymous with me.

her husband also, and he praises her:
²⁹“Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
Proverbs 31:28b-29

My husband

Her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.”

Her children arise and call her blessed;

Proverbs 31:28a

My Children

My daughter’s ages right now are pivotal in their own right. I have an 11 year old, who is on the cusp of teenage years and womanhood. A seven year old, who is starting to come into her own. A 16 month old, who is discovering this world and picking up on social cues. All of them no matter what they’re age continues to look to me to shape their ideas and role as a woman in this world. I strive to teach them how to be a light for God and noble.

Tapping to my why gives me more than the motivation that I need to achieve my weight loss goal. It also gives me a satisfaction that is better than any adrenaline high and keeps me committed to my faith, husband and children. Some days I may be tired, have nutritional blunders but at the beginning and end of each day. I am praising God for giving me a temple to honor and doing my best to do just that. How are you honoring your temple?

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Tags faith, fitness, healthy, honor your temple, lose weight, positive changes, weight loss, weight loss journey, workout plateau

Recipes

Fat Loss Friendly Butter Rum Cupcakes

Post author By De
Post date January 18, 2016
13 Comments on Fat Loss Friendly Butter Rum Cupcakes

ButterRumCupcake

I have been on a sugar detox for 14 days and being sugar free can make a girl do some crazy things ie. create a sugar free cupcake out of desperation for a after dinner treat. Detoxing has been extremely hard because there is sugar in everything. Things that you didn’t expect to have sugar in them there is. Of course, I know there is sugar in cupcakes, that’s why I love cupcakes. I have found doing this detox that sugar does have a mental and physical effect on me. The first two days, I had cravings and would end my days with headaches, which I don’t get. A week into the detox I had a really emotional down spell for several days being that I am a pretty optimistic person this was very challenging. Then the stuffy sinus’ and increased allergies. It is crazy that something so good, so satisfying, so sweet, (ha ha) can be have such a control of your body. I guess its not that crazy but until you go without something you never realize how much it is apart of your daily life.

After some trial and error I came up with a kid-friendly, husband approved, sugar craving satisfying dessert. This experiment has made this journey a little more “sweeter” and easier to bear. It ended up being really tasty and just what I needed at the end of a busy day. It’s nice to have a treat that I can eat on this weight loss journey that I don’t have to worry about sabotaging my efforts or doing extra work to work it off. If I had to restrict myself from all that is good ie. treats I don’t think I would be able to live this lifestyle. There has to be balance and compromise and this recipe is both and it is yummy.

ButterRum Cupcake Ingredients