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/

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) 

Challenge for you

Take the first steps!

So like I said in earlier posts, the key to becoming a better person and going on any journey is to take small steps, the same holds true for health and fitness. In that idea I challenge my readers to take a first step and this one is an easy one.

Yesterday's Tomorrow is Today

First of all I know we are getting into a time if year where most people just let loose and shove anything they can find into their face. Trust me I do it on some days as well. Like all things keep it in moderation and you should be OK. Be honest on this next question, how many people have gone into the season with the idea of "I am going to enjoy this time eat what I want and my new years 'resolution' will be to lose the weight I gained PLUS get in shape." For those of you that know what I am taking about think back to if you actually did that or if you gave it a go and gave up, kept the weight you put on the previous holiday season and went on with life. Fast forward, new holiday season, new weight gain, new resolution...bigger pants. Let me pose this idea to you Resolutions are CRAP. All it is is an excuse to pick a day to "start" because the new year makes the most sense but thing about this, a Thursday is just as good a start day than new years day. You don't have to go gung ho just get started. That is the spirit of this post, start the trend of changing now, resolutions don't work life changes work, drastic changes are hard (quit smoking cold turkey for example) small changes are easy, small change after small change equals big change, equals results you want!! Think about it, you don't drop ship in a house, you build small parts each day until it is finished and sturdy. Same thing goes for your fitness.

What can you do to start?

Here is my challenge to you, take a minute to look at what you are eating each day, don't change what you are eating, if you are eating healthy great keep going, if you eat like the average person great don't change a thing. That is the best part of this challenge it is easy. Go to MY FITNESS PAL and create an account, it is free. Use it to enter in what you are eating, be honest don't cheat no one sees it but you and track what you are eating. At the end of the day look it over and see how you really did vs. how you thought you did. Do that for a week and then decide if what you are doing is the best thing for you and your health. If you have an eye opening realization and would like some help getting things under control post a comment below or contact me directly if you have my information and I will be happy to send you suggestions to clean up your diet. 

Don't be scared, take this challenge it could change your life. 

Justin

A new blog a new me!

Thanks for checking it out!!!

So this is my second run a a blog my first one did pretty well and I got a good number of hits from it, a lot of them were from web spiders or people over seas trying to spam my readers with ads but hey a hit is a hit right. The first blog was fun and I enjoyed writing it until I got really busy at work and had to stop for a little while. Oh, and the other thing was I just talked about how my workouts were going each day and I think people get a little tired of that after a while so this one is going to take a different approach at the whole blog thing!!!

A little about me!!!!

First of all I am not all that much of a writer and I am certainly not a proof reader by any stretch, and trust me as you read this each time I post you will quickly realize that. If you can't tell by the first paragraph I have gotten into being active and fit over the last two years  and have done great doing it. I started 2011 at 265 lbs and a size 46 waist now I am 145 lbs and a size 30 if you can believe that. I used my new passion for fitness to help other get the same results that I have by becoming a Team BeachBody Coach. It has been challenging and rewarding all at the same time. I love hearing people tell me about the great results they are getting. If case my success is hard to believe (for some it can be) here are a few pictures of the person I was physically and the person I am now. Yep fat guy to not so fat guy and no that is not the same shirt!There are a lot of reasons for doing what I did but that is for another post. I am at IT "professional" if nothing else in knowledge but as everyone knows we only grow up so much as men but I am working on that part too don't worry. SEGWAYYY I am also a husband of a wonderful woman, and the father of the best child you could ask for, more on that in future posts as well. I will be using this blog to talk about them and how I want to be a better husband and father each day. My wife and I have also gotten into clean healthy eating over the last few years and have found some great sites to get really good meals that are healthy and low cal. Our two go to sites are Skinny Taste and Skinny Ms among others, so as I plan to share this blog with people I work with as a coach I will post about some of the meals that we have had with links and perhaps even pictures you never know!!! SIDE NOTE the formatting of where the pictures are is strange because I could not figure out how to put them where I wanted. One last thing, I am also working to become more God centered and a better person, I now take part in two bible studies and have started praying everyday, trust me those are both huge for me. As part of this goal I will post about things I pick up in the studies and how I think they apply today. That is the great thing about the bible, it is really a living document!! There is plenty more I want to cover but I don't want this first post to go too long and lose all four readers before I even get started. 

What I hope to do here!!!

I have decided that our lives are wasted if we are not constantly trying to become better people too many of us here in America have decided that OK is good enough, and that is sad. (I am also betting that is why we are in the shape we are in today) We have to constantly challenge ourselves to be better people, emotionally, spiritually, physically, and mentally. I have decided that journey is not over for me yet and I will continue to push myself further and further to become "A Better Bumpus" I encourage others to do the same and I hope that my telling about my journey, with all its rewards and struggles, will motivate others to follow in my foot steps. OK HERE COMES THE CHEESY If each of use work to be a better person before we know it we will be living in a better place. 

So yes this is a wordy one but a good one. (At least I think it is an OK start!)