How was your weekend?  Mine was laid back but fun.

Friday morning I got a 6-mile training run in with the pup!

Then I worked all day, finishing up appointments and blog to do lists.  If we are friends on snapchat you know my evening included finishing season 6 of Game of Thrones.  I know, we are total party animals, don’t be jealous!

Saturday morning I headed to TI Fitness for a strength endurance workout.  Those sumo squats were killer on my tired legs, but I got through them!

Had my first of many Pumpkin Coffee Smoothie of the season!

Chores and grocery shopping got done too!  Sometimes when I make my weekly meal plan, I get so into it seems like a life or death decision.  Then I remember, it’s just food silly! I did spend a super long time shopping at the grocery store, I kind of feel like its career research sometimes ya know?

Meal Plan

Breakfast

• Daiya yogurts and chocolate chip pumpkin muffins for Mr. Hungry (recipe coming VERY soon!)
• Flourless pumpkin pancake or Pumpkin bread for me – recipe not coming so soon because I burnt it.  I’m going to eat it, but will have to make it again before I can take photos!  (You can always try Cinnamon Raisin Bread or Coconut Banana Bread if you are looking for delicious, healthy bread recipes to try!)

Lunch

• Lunch meat salads for Mr. Hungry
• Leftovers, eggs, or lunch meat creations for me!

Dinners

• Sunday- Hoison Salmon (PaleOMG Cookbook) & Turmeric Cauliflower Rice
• Monday-  Spicy Broccoli Cheddar Quiche (or similar we have eggs and broccoli, so something!)
• Tuesday- Pizza Stuffed Bell Peppers (Recipe Development)
• Wednesday- Leftovers
• Thursday – TJ’s Butternut Squash for me, TJs Chicken Chili for Mr. Hungry
• Friday – Wing It
• Saturday – out

Weekend Outfits

Saturday night we went out shopping for a bit than to get Indian Food.  I kept it casual so we could go from mall shopping to date night pretty easy.  Stitch Fix top with a light army green pair of cargo shorts, steve madden sandals, stitch fix bag, and hat.

Sadly, shopping was kind of a bust.  The Indian food was delicious but definitely a lot of flavors I wasn’t used to.  No pictures because it was kind of dark and Indian Food never looks good on an iPhone anyways.  We came home and watched a cute little rom-com called The Intervention.  Sunday morning I pulled out one of my favorite dresses I’ve ever bought, my favorite thing I bought while in Europe and wore it to mass.  In the morning it was cold enough to wear my beloved Stitch Fix jacket.

It quickly heated up, so I draped the jacket over my bag which worked out nicely.  Aside from this being one of my favorite dresses these shoes are hands down my favorite ever.  They are short booties with snakeskin patterning from Betsey Johnson (I found these similar ones).  You probably didn’t know this about me but I love snakeskin patterned anything.  I’m absolutely obsessed with it, have been FOREVER.   Which is funny because I’m not a big fan of any other animal prints.  Maybe I should make that clear on my Stitch Fix boxes since I have animal prints currently listed as DON’T SEND.

The rest of Sunday included a long walk with Nala, lots of baking, two long Skype call back home with the in-laws (miss them so much), plus getting some work done (including starting this post!)

Week 42 Healthy Habit: Limit Alcohol

So now let’s backtrack to our Saturday night Indian Food date night, neither of us had a drink.  Now don’t get me wrong, there is nothing that I love more than getting dressed up, trying new foods and having a fun cocktail.  However, I just don’t drink that much.  Unless I’m traveling, it usually ends up being 1-2 times per month.  I have always been a social drinker (which is why I end up drinking more when I travel I think.) I’ve never been one to pour a glass of wine for myself after a long day.  I don’t like how it makes me feel (that night or the next morning) or how I sleep. Plus, Mr. Hungry’s gluten sensitivity limits him to grain free hard alcohols which he prefers to save for sporting events.  So, we are lucky; drinking just never became a part of our daily or even weekly ritual. (If we’re talking about sugar, that would be another story, luckily that isn’t what this post is about.)

I bring this up because one of the members of the gym recently asked me if her 2-3 times per week cocktail habit could be stopping her from reaching her goals.  That is such a tough question to answer.  Like all food, alcohol is an individual choice made up of your preferences, cultural background, and other influences.  Alcohol is also calorie dense and non-nutritional, and don’t start with the antioxidants heart-healthy wine argument.  You can get antioxidants from any fruit or vegetable and consume any heart-healthy fat (olive, avocado, etc.) easily enough; you don’t need the wine to get your antioxidants.  That argument is like comparing maple syrup to refined sugar.  Does one have a trace health benefits over the other?  Yes, but are they both pretty much sweet, delicious empty calories? Also, yes.

So is it the limiting factor in her success?  I don’t know for sure, but maybe.  It is my belief that stress is the single most important factor to weight loss.  Under high stress, the body fights weight loss every step of the way.  So, if a drink 2-3 times per week helps bring down stress, it’s hard to say.  However, since alcohol is a toxin or poison in our bodies, it is, in of itself a stressor.  So it’s a catch 22.

That being said, here is this week’s challenge:

Go one week without a drink.  

For some of you, this will be too easy.  Great, go back to one of the weeks below and repeat something you struggled with or haven’t been great with recently.  The rest of you may feel like I’ve taken away a sacred ritual and you will hate me, curse my name and potentially make voodoo dolls in an attempt to get back at me.  It’s okay; I accept your twisted craziness.  I know what you’re going through,  I used to be plenty attached to some foods.  Now that I’ve practiced intuitive eating for long enough, there is no one food I couldn’t live without.  In giving up my constant need to control my diet, I’ve freed myself from restriction and gained more control than I ever thought I would have.  It’s weird, give up control to get control, what kind of backward twisted world are we living in?

Take note of how you feel, how you sleep, your stress, your energy levels, your workouts and what you did or didn’t do instead of drink.  Did you stretch, go for a walk, or go to bed earlier without the alcohol?  Let me know how it goes, or I guess I’ll know when you start stabbing the voodoo doll in anger.  It’s cool I’ve got a high pain tolerance, or so I think…

 

52 Healthy Habits E-Course

Did you miss this series or wish you could repeat it?  No problem!  I’ve put all the posts together in an e-course that directly corresponds with the healthy habits series!  By focusing on one healthy habit per week you’ll be able to master the skills needed to successfully improve your health, increase your energy, and drop those unwanted pounds.  The best part is, you’ll do it while barely even realizing it.  These 52 habits are the habits I review with almost every single Hungry Hobby RD client.  These habits are the backbone of getting off the diet train and getting the results you wanted!  What are you waiting for??????

The e-course will provide supportive information such as tips and tricks to help you ingrain each healthy habit as part of your permanent lifestyle.

Cost of the automated series is $26 dollars (just 50 cents per week) for the whole year, which helps me cover the cost of automating the emails through my server. Thanks!

 

( Want to really plan to succeed and save money? What To Eat? Meal Plan subscriptions also come with this E-Course as part of the subscription! They also come with a supportive facebook group and a ton more goodies, check them out!)

 

52 HEALTHY HABITS IN 52 WEEKS SERIES:

The 52 Healthy Habits Series is about ditching the diet mindset and making small changes to improve health overall naturally leading to a healthy body composition, increased energy and improved health. Please follow along and check out the past weeks!

• Week 52: Healthy Habits Wrap Up
• Week 51: Nightly Reflection
• Week 50: Limit Harmful Chemicals
• Week 49: Find Your Tribe
• Week 48: Cultivating Positivity
• Week 47: Healthy Thanksgiving Tips
• Week 46: Check In
• Week 45: Mobility – Foam Rolling
• Week 44: HIIT Training
• Week 43: LISS or Steady State Cardio
• Week 42: Limit Alcohol
• Week 41: Eat White, Wait What?
• Week 40: Eat Blue & Purple
• Week 39: Eat Green
• Week 38: Eat Yellow/Orange
• Week 37: Eat Red
• Week 36: Learn Which Foods to Purchase Organic
• Week 35: Read the Ingredient List!
• Week 34: Focus.
• Week 33: Chew Your Food!
• Week 32: Meditation
• Week 31: Gratitude Journaling
• Week 30: Plan & Revamp Dessert- 20 Healthy Ideas
• Week 29: Two fistfuls of veggies per meal
• Week 28: Get In Veggies At Breakfast
• Week 27: Healthy Veggie Snacks
• Week 26: Nourishing Fats for the Gut (Healthy Digestion Part 4)
• Week 25: Keeping Regular – The Other Fiber (Healthy Digestion Part 3)
• Week 24: Feed The Probiotics With Prebiotic Fiber (Healthy Digestion Part 2)
• Week 23: Amazing Health Benefits of Probiotics (Healthy Digestion Part 1)
• Week 22: Check In
• Week 21: What You Will Learn From Recording Your Meals (Intuitive Eating Series Part 4)
• Week 20: Eat Until 80% Full (Hara Hachi Bu) (Intuitive Eating Series Part 3)
• Week 19: Limit Distractions While Eating (Intuitive Eating Series Part 2)
• Week 18: Gaging Your Hunger Cues (Intuitive Eating Series Part 1)
• Week 17: 10,000 Steps Per Day
• Week 16: Assess Your Caffeine Intake
• Week 15: Decrease Sugar Intake
• Week 14: Healthy Coffee Creamers (upgrade yours)
• Week 13: 3 Month Check In
• Week 12: Sleep Enough & Sleep Better
• Week 11: Schedule Your Workouts
• Week 10: Pack A Healthy Lunch (5 Ways to Create Endless Combinations)
• Week 9: Prioritizing Protein
• Week 8: How and What to Meal Prep
• Week 7: Create & Stick To Your Healthy Meal Plan
• Week 6: Get Enough Omega-3’s (Fight Inflammation)
• Week 5: What Is A Healthy Fat & How To Get Enough (Include Healthy Fats)
• Week 4: How to Spot A Healthy Carbohydrate (Upgrade Your Carbs)
• Week 3: Tips to Increase Veggie Intake (Eat Veggies)
• Week 2: 15 Healthy On the Go Breakfast Ideas (Eat BF Challenge)
• Week 1: Tips to Drink More Water