#SkinnyMatcha

Well Well I have to sy the Skinny Matcha is a WIN WIN! Here's a fantastic way to drink your Matcha. Its a delicious http://www.skinnytaste.com/2013/08/matcha-green-tea-shots.html

Finding Caffeine Alternatives

Do you have fibroid cysts? Do you notice them in your breast? Are your breast tender after a day of drinking strong coffee or soda? I've discovered the caffeine in much of these drinks affect me the very next day. My major symptom is pain and cyst swelling in my breasts. Although I love coffee I must seek alternative options, and there are not too many options to go by. I don't seem to have that bad of a reaction to Green Tea or White Tea. I determined Caffeine doesn't affect me as long as I don't go over 70 mgs per day which is a lot and easy to manage.

For example I can have two Starbucks Refresher drinks and not have swelling in my breasts, but if I have two cups of Sumatra Coffee; I'll regret it the very next day, I'll also have other symptoms If I say ignore the breast pain and continue drinking coffee everyday. The symptoms will grow to distressed breathing and nasal congestion. Anyone heard of this before? Can I really be allergic to caffeine? I know it the caffeine because the same thing will happen when I drink a coke. I'll keep you posted as I continue to trouble shoot and perhaps consult with an Internalist.

To check if caffeine is in anything you try you can check this site for reference http://www.caffeinearchive.com/

Lately things have been going good for me. To start with I've lost precisely 30 pounds which is super exciting! So recently I ran into a friend who asked me what I was doing to loose weight, and I had a hard time explaining in just one simple answer and decided to write a quick guideline. Now I'm not a dietitian and I don't know it all. but I wanted to share whats working for me. This may not necessarily work for you but I'm curious; if it works for you let me know = D 

I really think the weight loss was based on a few changes I made in January and so the light came on and the weight fell off. I wanted to share these changes for those who are frustrated and hit a plateau on their goals, I had for 2 years. Now I like the Paleo (caveman) diet; its a good one to follow but I really tried to just make my own decisions on what I ate. I read alot of books on various diets and enjoyed learning aboout the Macrobiotic diet, Juicing, Thrive diet (vegan), and really compared a number of them. I gained a pretty good understanding of why I should pay attention to sugar, what it does, why does it make me crave more sugar. Next I looked at sodium and decided if I had to have it, then opting for sea salt would be my best bet. Calories, I hated calories I never counted, I just knew what range to stay in for each meal. 

I've never been a breakfast eater but found that it was really important. So I started drinking a shake in the morning or juicing greens. For the shakes I only like two brands which I sometimes do. You can really get burnt out on your routine if you don't alternate flavors or brands. Usually for breakfast I have a Shakeology but not necessary to go out and buy their product. Its really just a morning meal replacement w/ protein that's expensive; except their chocolate shakes taste like brownie batter and for all you vegans out there, they have a vegan line as well {WIN}! A less expensive version I also do is Vega shakes, now this is a vegan product and well with that being said they have a rather acquired taste that's chalky but you get use to it. I was wasn't regularly drinking these meal replacement shakes the last 4 months only 3 times a week, so I don't claim them the fame of helping me loose weight. In truth I got hooked back on Coffee : / so as you can see its totally not necessary, just recommended. Coffee actually slows your metabolism down despite my addiction, my methods still work for me.

Now I was vegan for about 6 months, a vegetarian for 9 months, and a low carb freak for 4 months. I've since merged all of this and eat what I want. Now I stay away from white flour, processed sugar, and starchy carbs, I eat meat and make healthier choices on snacks. Its not too difficult to follow, really it only requires some common sense on my part. Real quick I want to point out that when I was eating vegan I was taking in tons of calories in which caused me to blow up (1st pic). So I learned about the benefits and differences in complex vs simple carbs. Which taught me to only intake complex carbs for the non bloating benefits. Protein was also an issue for me, learning that there are differences with complete and incomplete proteins. I hit the wall while training with cross fit, overworking myself with their grueling routines and feeling faint. I wasn't building muscle, I was just wearing my self out. I felt sickly. The reason for this was because I wasn't pairing the proper foods together. Kind of dangerous what I was doing, thinking back. Afterward I started concentrating on more high alkaline forming foods to assist in balancing my pH levels, which is very crucial if you ever wanted to benefit from the foods that you ate. If you're new to being vegan I recommend you read Brendan Brazier's Vegan nutrition guide book called "Thrive". Balancing acid and alkaline within your body is extremely necessary to fight off illness, fatigue, increase metabolism, lower cortisone levels (stress), and aids restful sleep. I noticed if you didn't eat as a vegan the correct way, you were damaging your health. So this took a great amount of study and I concluded towards the end that being a vegan was not for me. After all  I missed pot roast & seafood.

In the second picture of me I was running, lifting weights, and eating only fish as a meat. It was so frustrating, I was getting bigger! You name it I tried it, I even succumbed to diet pills for awhile. On January 23rd (my 33rd birthday) I took an Ashtanga yoga class and I loved it! For the first time I had a very nurturing teacher who moved me into correct poses, educated me on why the pose were beneficial, and the pose styles were very adaptable for any level yet still challenging. I didn't let it bother me that I was barely touching my toes or hopping all over the place for standing sequence. After all, I was new to yoga and I received alot of support from my fellow yogis. Originally I had planned on doing yoga once a week, gym twice a week, and running twice a week and ... yeah right, that didn't happen. I slowly stopped doing cardio, and soon started attending more yoga.  First it was twice a week (Thursdays & Sundays), then 3 times a week, now I do it everyday whether I go to class or not.  I've tried many different styles of yoga and out of all of them my favorite is still Ashtanga yoga. Ashtanga incorporates balance, strength, abs workout, and a bit of cardio. So whatever style of yoga you pick is fine, I say go for it, so many styles out there and I truly give credit to yoga for my sudden weight loss.

Now you can change your eating habits and the saying "abs start in the kitchen" - very true, but don't expect results right away unless you incorporate a workout routine too. You can start small if you hate exercising, do 20 minutes of weights 3 times a week. I would advise stretching daily. No gym required for this. Now as far as my eating guidelines are concerned they are what we call "eating clean". I don't starve myself nor deprive myself. I also don't reward myself with food. Sure I can make chocolate cake as long as its whole grain wheat flour and I portion a normal slice and eat in moderation. Less sugar, less fat, no guilt, and a sense of fullness. There's also alternative flour besides wheat flour like almond or buckwheat flour, there's many varieties of ground nut flour out there also- go to a specialty grocers that carry a good selection of local, organic, healthy options. Eating clean isn't hard to follow once you understand ingredients, so I created a substitute guide to clean up any recipes and give you ideas. 

I stay away from	Instead I use this
Processed foods & fast food	See my fast food preferences
White Flour	whole grain, almond, buckwheat, flax or any other ground nut flour
Pasta from white flour	Wheat grain pasta, quinoa, or barley as a bed for your fish or chicken *
Rice	Brown rice 1/3 cup * even though white rice is considered  a complex carb it usually bloats me up so I try to avoid it
sweet tea, sodas, yes ginger, and most bottled juices (high sugar)	Fresh squeezed juice, Oooh Luv homemade watermelon juice, unsweetened tea, GREEN TEA, hibiscus tea, coffee, and all yogi teas (great with a tbsp. of honey YUM!)
Sugar sweetener	I use low glycemic organic sugars such as agave or local honey
Most Dairy (milk, sour cream, cheese)	Almond milks my favorite, soy, and hemp milk are all ok. Greek Yogurt, fresco, feta, part skim mozzarella
Liquor	beer (YES BEER) but limit yourself to only a few and once a week, wine limit 2 glasses a few times a week I usually do ; )
White potatoes	I love those fingerling potatoes or sweet potatoes
Palm & coconut oil	Canola or Extra virgin olive oil

Don't know what a complex carb is? see a list here >>> List of Complex Carbs 
Another great site that introduces clean eating well is >>>> What is clean? 

As far as meats are concerned I don't limit myself to any specific type, if its high in saturated fat I portion smaller sizes about 4-6 oz. is a good size. I bought a scale, used it for one month and then tossed it. You get use to eyeballing it after awhile. I still eat bacon for breakfast but limit myself to a few pieces. I like beef, venison, chicken, and pork I eat it all; I just portion control. My favorite meat for juicy burgers is bison, venison, or turkey. Last time I mixed some venison with turkey and added some spicy mustard to the mix, it was AMAZING! I use a whole grain flat bun or go Eisenhower style (no bun/pile of lettuce). Most places will do this if you request it. I try to use avocado instead of cheese. I usually avoid cheese and in small portions if I do eat it. If I eat cheese its healthy with low saturated fat and in small portions. Again I try not to restrict myself. Whats helpful is reading up on foods because once I find out why it's bad for me then I usually don't want to eat it - unless its  bacon which is super good so then I portion smaller : ) I eat all the time so I'm never hungry, 5-6 times a day this includes snacking. Yes a simple kind bar or Lara bar counts. Make time for a snack or do the shakes like I do. You shouldn't feel hungry. At first you might crave fried foods since your sugar levels will drop. But remember, that's the sugar talking. You most definitely shouldn't feel tired, weak or hungry. Beef jerky is a great snack to ward off cravings. Another snack I eat late night to curve binge eating is PB & bananas on sprouted bread. A good dessert is Greek yogurt and I usually flavor it myself with fruit, hemp shells or you can do granola but watch out for sugar. I use raw granola. The same goes for trail mix, cranberries are almost always dried with added sugar, best to get the unsweetened type if you could find it, I get mine at Trader Joe's. 

So I want to take the time to list some of my fast food options I do on the go:

Freebirds
I love their steak salad with avocado and lime juice
Jason's Deli
Salad bar and half a California sandwich - I opt for the 9 grain bread
Zoe's Kitchen
Steak, Chicken, Shrimp, or Salmon Shish Kabob's
Zedric's
Miso Honey Salmon, Turkey Ragu, Turkey Burger, Shrimp Pad Thai
Chipotle
Shredded pork salad (no rice or cheese) w/ avocado & lime
Red Robin, Wendy's, Fuddruckers, or any burger joint
Turkey burger avocado & bun less and small portion of sweet fries ; )
Chick fil A
Either the grilled chicken salad (omit croutons  w/ balsamic dressing or grilled nuggets w/ a small side salad; unsweetened tea (usually everywhere its avail)
Mexican restaurants
For breakfast I usually order one Ala Mexicana (eggs w/ Pico de Gallo and Jalapeños) on corn and sometimes add black beans in it if they carry. For Lunch I usually just order one chicken or beef fajita taco on corn dry w/ grilled onions & avocado, or a taco salad without the shell, omitting rice & cheese w/ extra salsa : )
Pizza
Just 2 slices (no deep dish) usually thin crust w/ extra sauce
Seafood
I love seafood but a lot of the times they come with a bed of rice, I always opt for a salad or vegetable instead of the rice
BBQ joints
Turkey or lean brisket w/ vegetables

Hopefully this helps some of you -  Don't look at this as a diet, look at it as adjusting your preferences and never limit yourself just control yourself : )

BEFORE

                                         

        After