Post: #1

the last couple of days I didn't really journal because I was playing catch up, but I have been doing all the assignments. The most difficult one for me is making sure I drink enough water. But I have figured out a way to break it down so that I can make sure I do it. I make sure to drink a glass before bed and when I wake up at least one glass with each meal and then I have a water bottle that I fill up and drink throughout the day. Breaking it up this way and knowing exactly how I'm going to get it all in, makes it much more manageable.

My diet consists of eating as much organic as possible, and grass fed meat and limiting soy, wheat, corn, and processed foods to 10% of my diet, so basically I do not buy any of these at the grocery store and save the 10% for special occasions or when I'm out and may have less options to eat healthy.

This is my grocery list(since I'm eating mostly organic now, some of the stuff I can't get year round because it's not in season, some I will try to buy frozen if available):

apples
brown rice
celery
cucumbers
grapes
kiwi
oranges
quinoa
papaya
red bell pepper
watermelon
sprouted grain bread
organic cheese
almond milk
organic grass fed meat
organic chicken
organic eggs
wild fish
nut butter (raw, no added salkt
raw cashews
coconut oil - organic, unrefined, no chemicals including hexane, no gmo variety, cold press
extra virgin olive oil
coconut milk
salsa
avocados
spinach
frozen acai berries
frozen veggies: i.e. broccoli, spinach, edamame, organic corn
buffalo and other exotic meat
oat bran and steel cut oats
organic maple syrup
malassis
raw honey
beans
canned tomatoes
dark chocolate
onions
spices

Post: #2

Hi Katie and welcome

That's an impressive list - I particularly like the fact you put dark chocolate in there - I never knew that was healthy - I better go get some

I'm wondering what quinoa is as I keep seeing that on people's lists but i never heard of it before - I guess I should go google it

Post: #3

Hi Katie,

Katie - I love your food list - sounds so yummy and has lots of variety. Do you eat out a lot and if so, are you able to get these kinds of food most of the time?

Cheers!
Deborah

Post: #4

Hi Katie,

Your Grocery list is very impressive and have lot of variety and sure delicious....

Have a great day

Post: #5

(01-06-2011 08:01 AM)Jade Wrote:  Hi Katie and welcome

That's an impressive list - I particularly like the fact you put dark chocolate in there - I never knew that was healthy - I better go get some

I'm wondering what quinoa is as I keep seeing that on people's lists but i never heard of it before - I guess I should go google it

@Jade, Quinoa is a grain, but it's a super food, it has a ton of protein and I many times use it as a substitute for blugar wheat in tabouli, cous cous rice, and sometimes even pasta. I've also noticed in soups that you can use it instead of flour to thicken a soup up.

It's very simple and fast to cook. try it out and tell me how you like it!

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(01-07-2011 12:22 PM)Kootenay Deb Wrote:  Hi Katie,

Katie - I love your food list - sounds so yummy and has lots of variety. Do you eat out a lot and if so, are you able to get these kinds of food most of the time?

Cheers!
Deborah

@Deborah,
I do eat out frequently. However, in Austin I am very fortunate that I live in a city that there are a lot healthy options of places to eat out. That being said, it is still very challenging. I try to live by this rule:

Unless it's a special occasion I try not to cheat at all
IF there is nothing that I can eat without cheating I look for the best option
for example: I try to avoid wheat, corn (unless organic) soy and processed foods such as sugar, hydrogenated oils etc.

When I look at the menu I try to find something that is as close to nature as possible. For example, I would much rather have a salad with beef or chicken even if it is not grass fed or organic, vs. pasta with marinara, because pasta is not natural. I try to usually have them substitute things as well, if it's served with bread, I usually ask for a different side, like veggies, or I say "no bread"

I eat a lot of salads, soups, protein, things I can tell what they were and how they were prepared. I try to stay away from casseroles, and things like that. Hope this helps.

---

I've been traveling quite a bit the last few days, so my access to internet has been limited. But I have been reading the post and journaling on pen and paper.

One thing I was very happy with is that I have already lost 2 lbs despite the holidays and the traveling. Eating out wasn't so difficult. I only had two meals where I had bread. One was a Philly Cheesesteak in Philly and another was a piece of bread with steamed mussles. Other than that, I have stuck firmly to my new lifestyle change and I feel great. I've been working out pretty hard to and if feels amazing!

One of the post talked about smoothies. I have a great green drink/smoothie to try. It sounds horrible, but just try it, you'll be pleasantly surprised:

1 handful of raw spinach
1 handful of ice
any combination of OJ, apple juice, orange, apple or lemon
(I usually try to use fruits instead of juices, because you know that nothing is added, but in a pinch you can substitute for juices instead)
blend
drink

Post: #6

Hi Katie

Quote:I have a great green drink/smoothie to try. It sounds horrible, but just try it, you'll be pleasantly surprised

it sounds very experimental drink...i'm amazed that it was pleasant...

I want to try this one out ...

Post: #7

(01-12-2011 09:34 PM)Jyothirmayee Wrote:  Hi Katie

Quote:I have a great green drink/smoothie to try. It sounds horrible, but just try it, you'll be pleasantly surprised

it sounds very experimental drink...i'm amazed that it was pleasant...

I want to try this one out ...

It's surprisingly very refreshing

---

I started off with a hard copy of my healthy living guidebook. It was very helpful to put pen to paper when thinking everything out. But now, I have converted it to electronic format so I can have it with me every day and can easily modify as needed. For example, on my iphone I have my grocery list saved in my "notes," I have an app that records my calorie intake based on what I'm supposed to be eating you can get free apps either through Spark People or Livestrong, and both of them work great. I also have subscribed to different newsletters that have healthy recipe and workouts, some of them include "Eat This Not That" "4 hour body" "prevention" and several others, as I get the emails I read them, when I see articles I want to keep I file them in a folder on my gmail called diet and exercise. If it's a recipe, I file it under recipe, that way if I'm on the go, I can still do my workouts, or go shopping for ingredients for new healthy recipes, it's very handy

---

I'm trying to get in tune with my emotions and food, I've noticed more than anything when I get home no matter what time it is, I want to eat something, so what I have decided to do is in addition to keeping non processed only healthy food in my kitchen, I keep super healthy things like celery and carrots, I get some greek style yogurt 2% fat and mix it with a little bit of spices or dip powder, sometimes even get some herbs from my patio and cut them up and put it in there and I eat it. It's very healthy fills me up quickly and I don't feel guilty, plus it keeps me from binge eating later.

Post: #8

You sound like you are getting really organised Katie - that's brilliant - I must admit I havent put much in my Healthy Living Guidebook yet but I have opened a word document with that name so at least its a start - I hope to do some more calorie research at the weekend as I sometimes guess a little at the moment

Quote:I'm trying to get in tune with my emotions and food, I've noticed more than anything when I get home no matter what time it is, I want to eat something, so what I have decided to do is in addition to keeping non processed only healthy food in my kitchen, I keep super healthy things like celery and carrots, I get some greek style yogurt 2% fat and mix it with a little bit of spices or dip powder, sometimes even get some herbs from my patio and cut them up and put it in there and I eat it. It's very healthy fills me up quickly and I don't feel guilty, plus it keeps me from binge eating later.

This is exactly my problem too and I am pretty much using the same solution as you ie make sure I have some healthy low calorie nibbles available for this time. Usually I start cooking fairly soon after I come home so I also have to make sure I dont grab something high calorie every time I open a cupboard or the fridge! I find a hot drink helps too - takes the edge off my hunger. Oh and I have been most successfull with this strategy if I actually plan the nibbles and write them down before I eat them - that way its harder to let anything unplanned jump into my mouth

Post: #9

Hi!! Katie

From past two years I have been maintaining a rough food journal and i have decided to continue with it....Lack of time and my laziness would not allow me to transform that into soft version for sometime..i plan to do it but not for now...

Quote:I'm trying to get in tune with my emotions and food

Sailing in the same boat...no idea how i connect to food emotionally..its an essential part of daily routine and it will take sometime to understand its links and my attachment with it...i'm still asking myself..its not that easy as Celes connects the dot in her case...

You're doing great...

Post: #10

My journal was accidentally deleted, but I'm still around. I'm here to update you on the last couple of days since I've been traveling and have had limited access to internet:

1. Cleanse your Kitchen - I moved 3 months ago and when I moved I decided to purge my house of all unhealthy food. The new rule is that no unhealthy food comes into the house, unless it's a very special occassion (i.e. birthday - you have to have birthday cake on your birthday). For NYE we had a party, so we took it upon ourselves to remove a ton a clutter, things that I hadn't given away when moving, I now either got rid of or put away. Of course after the party we did an industrial strength cleaning, and have in a week our housekeeper and carpet cleaner coming to get everything extra super clean! And of course stocking up on healthy food. I like to go the first of the month and stock up on non-perishable healthy food and weekly get my produce, it's great to have healthy food in the house. Clean fridge - because I only buy now what I need, it helps eliminate having to clean the fridge, I love it!

2. Review prepare for the upcoming week - I've been very satisfied with how much I have stuck to my plan. It's become increasingly less difficult to stick to it, because I like how I feel when I do stick to it, I have more energy and just feel so much better about myself.

3. Meditate/Breathe - I did a lot of meditating and practicing my breathing over the weekend. I can tell you that it really helped me relax and get focused for the upcoming week. If you have a place that does Kundalini yoga in your area, I highly suggest it! I also listen to guided meditations at night before I go to bed or in the middle of the afternoon in replace of a nap, it's really great.

4. Floss your teeth - this funny enough was one of my new year's resolutions. I'm trying to floss more often. Tests have shown that people who do not floss have a greater chance of having heart disease, it is related to the inflamation that occurs when you do not floss. For more information see here: http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/featu...art-health
I started the year off by making an appointment at the dentist. I went yesterday to get an examination and my teeth clean, so I feel like I'm starting fresh, it feels great!

5. Hug yourself - I have never done this before, but it was amazing how good I felt, it reminds me that I need to remember to love and take care of myself

7. Go barefoot walking - I do this all the time, to the point that we do not wear shoes in the house. I wear shoes to work, but not in my office, and many times I walk barefoot outdoors. I will say that it does require me to get pedicures more often and I must moisturize my feet more than people who wear shoes all the time. But it's much more freeing and keeps those muscles strong that don't work as hard when wearing shoes.

Post: #11

Hey Katie, your journal wasn't deleted - it's moved to the Final Lap forum for all participants doing 21dhl till the end (might have shifted to pages 2/3 and hence you couldn't see it on the first page?). I've combined your post with your original thread: http://personalexcellence.co/forums/show...?pid=5461.

PS: Keep up with the great work you are doing with the challenge!!!

"If you want to get something you have never gotten before, you've to do something you've never done before."
Personal Excellence - For people passionate about achieving excellence in life

Post: #12

(01-19-2011 10:45 AM)Celes Wrote:  Hey Katie, your journal wasn't deleted - it's moved to the Final Lap forum for all participants doing 21dhl till the end (might have shifted to pages 2/3 and hence you couldn't see it on the first page?). I've combined your post with your original thread: http://personalexcellence.co/forums/show...?pid=5461.

PS: Keep up with the great work you are doing with the challenge!!!

Thank You so much and I'm so sorry I did not see it. Thank You also for combining the threads, you rock!