Something to fill you APPetite

So today I thought I would spend this post telling everyone about some of the apps I am using on my phone that have helped on on my weight loss journey. Some of these app are new and some of them I have been using for a long time and don't know if I would have been able to do what I have done so far without them. These are in no particular order I am just putting each one out there for each of you to see. If you have an app that you love to use as part of you fitness and nutrition please comment below and I will check them out.

My Fitness Pal

I know I have mentioned this one before but I am going to mention it again. I have used several app over the last two years that are supposed to help track your food and calorie intake and by far this is the best one. Why do I like this app more than the others? Well here is a few reasons. 1. It is FREE you just sign up for an account and off you go. 2. You can use it on the web or your phone. 3. It is customizable to any nutrition plan you are on at the moment and can be programmed to keep track of the protein, carbs, and fat you are taking in each day. 4. The phone app has a bar code scanner that uses the camera on the phone, you just put the phone up to the bar code, it scans it and enters it into your diary. Great tool for tracking what you are eating.

 Run Keeper

I used to use this app all the time (when AT&T GPS could find me) when I was running a lot more. This is a great little app, it uses your phone's GPS to keep track of where you are and your runs. It will tell you the number of miles you ran, your current pace, average pace, calories burned, elevation change, you name it. This is a great way to set a goal such as I am going to run 25 miles this month...it will do that too! It keeps a running tally of all your runs that can be broken down by the day, week, month, or year. If you are thinking about getting into running this is a must have, you would be surprised how far you are actually running when you are tracking it. Plus watching those miles begin to add up really keeps you going.

Fooducate

This one really goes hand in hand with My Fitness Pal. This app does not track food, progress, or anything like that, this app is totally informational. This is a great guy to have with you when you are at the store getting your shopping done. What this app does is let you scan a products bar code (much like My Fitness Pal) and will give you a grade on how healthy the product is. It grades on a letter grade scale just like when you were in school so the higher the grade the better the food. You can even add the option to have it warn you when the food you are eating contains GMOs or not. It is another great free app, give it a shot, you will be surprised where some of your "healthy" staples land.

Max Capacity Training

Here is a workout program that has you working out a few days a week for only 15 minutes a day. Trust me this is no small task. The workouts are intense and so are the moves. To give an example the first workout you do will have you doing 50 seconds of pushups followed by 10 seconds of rest four times. This will continue into squats, planks, and other moves. The point of this is to get you working hard right off the bat and keeping you there to see just how far you will go. The app is 100% free as well and gives pictures and instructions on how to do each of the moves and the timing for each exercise before you go and do them so take a minute to read what you are going to be doing fully before you go out and do it. Don't have a lot of time and want a good workout? This one is for you.

Don't be scared of the Turkey

For those of you that don't know I have the best wife in the world and I am happy to say that. On that not she had a conversation with a friend who is trying to lose weight and is worried about the next month...Aren't we all, but this is what she wrote to help her get through the festivities so I wanted to share it with my readers here!

Enjoy, I could not have written it better myself so I won't even try:

Around this time of year there is always a sense of dread to those who have been eating healthier.  How do I stay on track and still enjoy all the holiday traditions?  Well, we hope to help you out.  We may not answer all of your questions but hey, it's a start.  Every once in a while it is okay to give yourself permission to enjoy those not so healthy foods.  Do it in moderation and watch your portions.  Portion control is a big factor over the holidays.  It is human nature to over indulge.  Then there is the reward mindset, I've worked so hard these last 6 months, I deserve an extra piece of pie.  That can set you back.  But if you have a small slice and get rid of that craving, it is okay.  Try not to overload your plate.  Try not to go back for seconds.  Drink plenty of water.  Water keeps you feeling full!  If you can, make a few items that you know you can eat without worrying.  Or if you are making the whole meal try and "skinny" it and see if any one notices.  There are great recipes out there.  We have included some here, but if you need more checkout www.skinnytaste.com orwww.cookinglight.com or your favorite website for a healthier version.  Pecan pie is always a staple at Thanksgiving whether it gets eaten or not.  Well this year I am making mini pecan phyllo tarts. http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/11/mini-pecan-phyllo-tarts.html  There is only 68 calories in each one. Both of those websites have entire sections dedicated to healthy thanksgiving meals right now. More recipes in a minute.  The best suggestion I have though, is if you eat the whole nine yards of everything you wanted, don't beat yourself up and think oh I've ruined my day/month/year, I will just start over at new years.  Remember it was just one meal.  The very next meal you can go back to eating how you were.  The very next day you can start again.  Don't fall into the holiday trap of waiting to start over.  One meal wont hurt you that much.  But dot give up on all your hard work over one meal or one day.  Keep it up.  You have made it this far.  You can continue.  You may even be surprised when the holidays are said and done, you may have continued to lose weight.  Please let us know if you have any questions.  Good luck and stay strong!



http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/11/moms-stuffing-lightened-up.html

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/10/sweet-potato-casserole.html

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2008/03/garlic-mashed-potatoes-3-ww-points.html

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/11/skinny-pumpkin-pie.html

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/09/cinnamon-apple-crisp.html

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/11/skinny-turkey-cuban-sandwich.html

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/green-bean-casserole-10000000521452/
http://www.cookinglight.com/entertaining/holidays-occasions/holiday-cookbook-sides-00400000030233/

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/roast-turkey-with-truffle-gravy-10000001673133/

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/maple-mustard-glazed-fresh-ham-50400000117852/

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/creamy-light-macaroni-cheese-50400000115195/

They told me the earth was round

Why do I bring this up, well it is for one reason and one reason only because yet again it seems my schedule has caused me to fall off the planet once more. I tell you I am really trying to make sure I can post here everyday but busy busy. The few times I did have a minute to post I decided to spend time with the family instead because you know what they say, family first. So buckle up it is time to go over what has been going on for a little while.

Better Physical Me

I have still been working out and I have not missed a day yet, I came close this weekend because I was not in the best mood or head space but my workout sitting there taunting me just kept eating away until I did it after I put Haley to bed. I have not done much running (none at all really) since the half marathon but most of it has to do with the fact that I had been hurting from my fall but that is finally getting better so if I have a little time tomorrow I may jump on the treadmill at lunch today. Today was the first day of week 9 for me in Tai Cheng and it was my first pass on the final sequence. I did a lot better than I thought I would and it was my best sequence to date. As a matter of fact after sequence 2 I waited a few days in order to get it but today I did so well that I will be adding the bands tomorrow! Then it is four weeks of sequences and done!!!

Better Husband

I don't know if I have been a better husband but I like to think that I am trying to be. Whitney and I are doing a Sunday school class at church called the five love languages and so far (two of three sessions, we did miss one). It has been really eye opening, not only does it tell me things about myself I didn't know but it is also showing me just how much I was not understanding aspects of myself and how I can take these aspects I already have and make them better. The study comes with DVDs that we watch each week and a book that we are reading, the book is great and I try to read a couple pages of it every morning when I eat breakfast. 

Better Spiritually

We have been going to church each week and really feel connected to this group. Don't get me wrong the last group we went to church with was great but it was one day a week we didn't do any of the small group stuff and we really didn't connect with the pasture. On the other hand this church is much smaller we have gone to a few of the events and are praying for what we are going to do to help the church move forward. All in all it has been great

Better Professionally

Both in my BeachBody business and in my IT work. I went to a server 2012 Boot Camp yesterday and was really impressed with what I saw, I got all my study material for the CISSP camp that I will be doing next month and I am getting the itch to get more certifications again, I just have to find the time for it but I am sure that I will. Coaching is going great as well, I have been assigned a few people to work with and some of them are looking to start coaching as well. I have been on a volume streak and have made some kind of commission each week over the last 7 weeks. I even got my first team bonus and all that did was fire me up more to get even more coaches signed up to help other and get people off up and moving. 

Yummy Yummy

Today I am going tell you a little something about eating and the way I eat and some of the great meals my wife Whitney makes on the few days that I get to go home and have dinner with the family rather than eat cold left overs sitting in traffic in my car. Trust me happens a lot more often than you think, As a matter of it is normally three times a week I find myself eating out of my car. Yes it is sad but you do what you have to do for family, I have confidence and faith that my Team BeachBody business will take off soon and I can stop teaching!

So here is what we like.

There are several sites that we are fans of, and I can't take the credit for them because Whitney is the one that found them but they are all worth checking out. They are 100% proof that you don't have to eat low flavor boring food to eat healthy, several of the meals are skinny alternatives to what you may already be used to eating. We have had lasagna, cookies, brownies, chicken alfrado, you get the picture. The first one is Skinnytaste.com, I don't know if I am remembering correctly but I seem too think this is one of the first ones we started using. Again don't fact check me here, Whitney found it on FaceBook where they would post meals and when you go to the site it almost overwhelming the amount of choices you have! Another great one we use is skinnyms.com. Yet another site with great subs of traditional meals that you grew up with, as a matter of fact part of what we are having for dinner tonight is a bread pudding that was originally 600 calories a serving that they were able to bring down to 155...amazing I know. The thing I like about this site is it has more than just meals, it has fitness tips, workouts, all kinds of healthy living tips. We also like using Myrecipes.com. I don't know quite as much about this site but from what I understand it is a collaboration of  several different healthy cooking sources so you get lots of choices there. Whitney also finds a lot of meal using pintrest, this isn't anything that I have ever logged into or signed up for but I know many of the things we found on there have been awesome. Finally, we also have a subscription to Cooking Light magazine and get plenty of ideas there as well. I can go on and on for ever about this but I think that you are getting the point, not know what to eat or saying "I can't cook healthy" is a bunch of crap it can be done you just need to want to do it. As a matter of fact once you start it is easier to healthy than it is to eat the way you have been eating because you have plan. I say check some of these things out an comment here some of the things you have tried and what your favs have been. 

Justin  

(Forgive the formatting I still can't seem to figure out the reasoning behind why I can't put picture where I want the)