A Few Tips for Successful Grocery Shopping

At the beginning of my journey grocery shopping was a huge fear for me, it was something that I had not mastered quite yet. I think everyone creates their own routine for shopping, and you get the same things over and over again or just items that are "comfortable". The first few times I picked up food, I went without my kids & hubby, and it took FOREVER. I was calculating everything out (for my WW points) and I would only put safe foods in my cart. I probably wasted lots of money while doing it too! Here are a few tips I have used along the way that make my shopping trip much easier, and cheaper too!

1. Be prepared, make a list after looking through your cupboards/fridge to determine what you really need so you're not buying duplicates.

2. Don't go hungry, eat before you go! (This one is the most crucial for me)

3. Most of the time, I go weekly shopping so that I am not buying a ridiculous amount of food. Just enough to last a week or so, I save money and food does not go to waste when I plan my meals accordingly.

4. Do your research, find out where the deals are. I buy all of my produce at Aldi's and meat at Walmart, just to save money. Seems silly, but when you are basically living off produce it really helps.

5. Buy the produce that is in season, I love summer months because you can get more varieties of produce. But that doesn't mean that in the winter I don't buy any because it's spendy. I just buy what is in season for the time of year.

6. Only put food in your cart that you feel you can eat with control. I have two young kids, so buying snacks is a necessity. But instead of buying junk food, I buy healthier options that still tastes good for them but if I decide to join in I can eat without overdoing it. Example: Chocolate Goldfish crackers, fruit strips, Reduced Fat Crackers, Sugar Free Pudding

7. I shop in the outside border of the store for 90% of my groceries. The outside borders are the only sections of fresh food that actually go bad. I buy very little in the middle sections, if the food doesn't go bad and can sit in my cupboard for months/years - I don't want it :)

8. Read the nutrition facts BEFORE putting the item in your cart. Even if it looks healthy from the packaging, looks can be deceiving. Look at new unfamiliar items carefully so you are fully aware of what you are bringing into your home.

9. Make healthy substitutions every chance you can. Example: Instead of buying regular noodles, buy wheat, salad dressing/cheeses buy light or fat free, instead of canned veggies buy frozen or fresh.

10. Lastly, and probably the most important for me. Prepare your produce the moment you are done putting groceries away. After I am done putting everything away, I line my counter with all of my fruit and veggies, wash every piece, cut it all up, and place the prepared food in containers for the fridge. It takes a little time but I never waste any produce, it is so much easier to grab and go when it is all ready ;)

Hope these help a bit, I use every single one of these tips every time I shop. Happy shopping!

How's the Inline Marathon Training Going?

My friend Sarah and I are participating in the Duluth North Shore Inline Marathon (yes, that would be 26.2 MILES) on September 17, 2011!!!!!!!!!!! It is coming up so quickly, and my anxiety levels are starting to creep up... I am not feeling as prepared as I would have liked to be this close to the race. Tomorrow morning we are going to do some "hill training" to SOMEWHAT prepare for those intense Duluth hills we are going to face the day of the big race. I never thought in my life I would ever take part in something this crazy! I am so proud of us for facing our fears and just going for it :)Neither of us is in it to "race" for a good time, we are doing it to complete it and accomplish yet another huge milestone.

In addition to racing, we are staying up there for the whole weekend "kid free"!! We are celebrating a year of life changes and accomplishments with each other and our husbands. It will be a much needed, seriously deserved weekend away :)

Now it is time to crack the whip and get as prepared as we can! Here is the link to the race for anyone that may be interested.

http://northshoreinline.com/

Happy Saturday!

Here's an update on my slump & my dad is back in the game too!!!

Happy "hump" day :) I always chuckle a little when I hear that :) lol...

It's been no secret that this summer has been a struggle for me to maintain my regular intense workouts and control my eating at special events. Though my weight has not increased at all because of it, I was feeling a icky about the way I was handling myself.

Things over the last couple of weeks have been better, I have still been doing my daily cardio (walks/runs) and eating has been a bit more controlled. I have had a few events, and I did eat the food served at them but then the remainder of the week I have was more committed to stay on track. I am still not nearly as on "target" as I have been at times, but it's a work in progress! I am human, and still have struggles like everyone else :)

Also, I am going to try weighing in on Thursday mornings vs. at 5:30pm. I have been finding that the afternoons without my regular snack are far too difficult and then I binge eat after my meetings because I am STARVING! Not good.

Lastly, my dad has recently jumped back on the WW wagon!!!! Woooooo Hooooo!!!!! I am so proud of him, at the beginning of my journey I asked him to join with me. Let's be honest we both had a long road ahead of us, though he lives in a different state our daily check in phone calls were what I needed at that time and so did he. He had great success, and then he had some life changes that caused a slight hiccup in his own journey late last summer. I could tell when he decided to stop following the program, our daily phone calls then went to every other day, then soon once a week and we didn't even talk about the program anymore. I asked him several times to not give up, but he needed to make his own choice. I was in this for me, and I could not allow his slump to pull me away. I was focused and determined to keep at it. Throughout my journey, he has continued to be a huge support for me. But I knew inside he felt like he had failed me, a couple of weeks ago he made the best choice I have heard in a long time and decided to get right back on again!! Our daily phone calls have resumed, and he is doing amazing. I am so proud of him, and I will stand by him encouraging him along the way! I will be that support for him now in his journey, I know he can do this :)

Here is a picture from the week before we both started this journey. We went to his home for a family vacation and all we did was eat, literally. When I got home, I felt gross and knew I needed to make a serious change. My dad, was the first person I called asking for help.

Recipe - Diet Soda Cake

It's my mom's birthday today, and for every family members' bday we get together for dinner, cake & ice cream. I asked my mom if I could bring the cake, I wanted to try a new receipe!

Diet Soda Gluten Free Vanilla Cake (My stepdad requires Gluten Free, but you can use any box cake for this recipe)

1 Package Gluten Free Vanilla Cake Mix
10oz Diet 7up
1 Box Sugar Free Strawberry Jello
1 Box Sugar Free Lime Jello
8-12oz Fat Free Whipped Cream (I like lots, so I needed more than 8oz)


1. Preheat oven to 325

2. Empty cake mix in bowl, pour Diet 7up in cake mix & stir until mixed

3. Pour in greased 9x13 pan, and bake for 30-35 minutes until golden

4. Let cool for about 20 minutes

5. While cake is cooling, make jello using 1 cup boiling water and 1/2 cup cold water.

6. Poke holes all over cake w/ fork, once jello is ready and cake is cooled, pour jello over top of cake. (I used about 1/2 of each kind)

7. Top with fat free whipped cream and refridgerate for 1-2 hours

8. Cake should be cut in 16 pieces (4x4 rows)

Serving size is one piece (Each piece 5 WW PointsPlus)

Everyone loved it! It was very very moist!!!

I am back in the game!

I apologize for not posting lately, I was blogging from my cell phone and it is so hard to do that! I didn't own a computer until today, so now I have no excuse! I will be posting more often now moving forward :) PS... this is my VERY first computer! Crazy!

Hmmmmm... let's see, I did another 5K yesterday morning!! That would be my 5th total and 4th for this season! My time wasn't very good (36.47) but it was a hard run for me. Lots of hills, grass, dirt, and just a different type of ground to run on. I enjoyed the scenery, but made for a tough run! I did the run with one of my dear friends that has been apart of this journey with me every step of the way :) Between the two of us, we have lost 129.4lbs since June 2010!!!!!! It's amazing to have someone close understand the entire process.

Anywho, I am going to post some new recipes this week... I am so pumped not to have to do this from my phone! Wooooo hooooo for technology! lol

Shantal

Love it!

Day after day I walk into my home and see our family picture up all over our walls from two years ago... It is a constant reminder both good and bad of the old me. I demanded that we update all of our pictures on our walls with my life changes, without hesitation my hubby agreed :) I am in love with our family picture, it is beautiful and it makes me so happy to see all of us look great without nit-picking myself apart!

It's no secret the last month has been a serious struggle for me. I have been feeling a bit off track and since we have brought Emma (our new puppy) home my gym workouts have taken a backseat. I need to figure out a new routine and make it work... I NEED to get back in the swing of things, though I have been doing tons of cardio at home I haven't done any strength training in THREE weeks! Yikes!

I hope this is just a slump and it will pass, I keep telling myself it is normal and to stop being so hard on myself. My weight continues to go down or stay the same, so I am not going in the wrong direction there but I just feel "off". Lord Help me.

One day at a time, one day at a time.

Let's be honest, I'm human...and struggling this summer!

Though I've been doing my best to make the right choices with eating, I've also been splurging more frequently on the weekend during my events taking place. Between BBQs, parties, and every other event that seems to consume every single weekend of my entire summer, its really hard to remain in control at all times. I basically has stopped tracking, mainly because I've been making really good choices for the last several months and I just honestly didn't really want to track for the rest of my life. I've been concentrating on making this my lifestyle and I know I will not be writing down my daily food intake forever, so I thought I would try it for a little knowing if I couldn't handle it, I'd start it again. For the most part, my eating is fine I eat healthy 95% of the time, but the weekends are killing me!!!!! I'm human and feel uneasy about all of the constant temptation summer is bringing me.

Now exercising is another story, it feels like I am always moving and doing some form of activity, but compared the level of intensity I am used to, I've been feeling like a slacker! Since getting Emma (our new puppy ) I've not been able to go to the gym after work, I don't live in town so I would go to the gym right after work before coming home. Well now, I have to rush home to let our puppy out of her kennel to go potty! I know once she is older and can hold it longer and I can get back in my routine but right now, I'm struggling! I have been getting in lots of cardio between walking our new puppy, running with her and keeping up with my two kids as well so I guess it could be worse...

Why is this weighing on me so much? Is this not ok? These things happen in life, and I am a normal human being so why can't I accept this and stop beating myself up? I've worked my butt off for the last year, am I just scared? Just goes to show how the ups and downs of the process don't go away, its just learning how to work through them and come out ok in the end.

I can and will get through this, I will make it all work...