Meal Plan for January 11th - January 17th

I'm so excited for this week's plan of eating. I had so much energy last week and because I had everything planned out and ready to go, I didn't sabotage my goals. I know that in order to live the fulfilling life I desire I need to keep my nutrition in check.

Food has always been a struggle for me. What I've learned is you need to figure out when you want to make bad choices. I know that I will be more apt to make a poor choice with food when I'm over tired, and stressed out. With my long commute to and from work, I tend to get pretty stressed out about how I am going to get done all that needs to get done. This then brings on trips through the drive through and bingeing on french fries or cookies, or pizza, man do I love pizza.

So my meal plan for the week is pretty simple. I tried adding avocado into my plan last week and it was an epic FAIL. It just didn't satisfy me at all, and I felt like it got wasted. However, my plan of adding in mixed nuts was an epic SUCCESS! I was a bit nervous about cutting out all of my carbs via grains. Turns out I didn't miss them at all because I had plenty from the fruits I had been eating!

I had weight loss success and energy success, so I'm taking what works and running with it!

Meal Plan for Sunday, January 11, 2015 to Saturday, January 17th
	Sun	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat
B-Fast	2  eggs w/ Blueberries	2  eggs w/ Blueberries	2  eggs w/ salsa Blueberries	2  eggs w/ salsa Blueberries	2  eggs w/ Blueberries	2  eggs w/ salsa Blueberries	2  eggs w/ salsa Blueberries
Snack	Mixed Nuts	Mixed Nuts and raspberries	Mixed Nuts and pear	Mixed Nuts and pear	Mixed Nuts and pear	Mixed Nuts and Raspberries	Mixed Nuts and Raspberries
Lunch	Lunch out with Family	Shakeology w/ almond milk	Shakeology w/ almond milk	Shakeology w/ almond milk	Shakeology w/ almond milk	Shakeology w/ almond milk	Shakeology w/ almond milk
Snack	Shakeology w/ almond milk	Plain yogurt w/ Mixed Berries	Plain yogurt w/ Mixed Berries	Plain yogurt w/ Mixed Berries	Plain yogurt w/ Mixed Berries	Plain yogurt w/ Mixed Berries	Plain yogurt w/ Mixed Berries
Dinner	Canjun spiced fish Salad w/ dressing	Chili w/ Salad w/ dressing	Based Chicken w/ Roasted Broccoli	Pork Chops w/Sweet Potatoes	Stuffed Peppers Salad w/ dressing	Chicken Stirfry w/ Carrots, broccoli, snap peas	Out to Dinner!

Asian-style Chicken or Shrimp Soup

My husband LOVES cooking soups, and tonight he cooked the most AMAZING Asian soup. I could eat it ALL DAY LONG! I hope you enjoy it, and let me know what you think if you decide to make it!

You can use any noodle you like for this soup, we used soba noodles!

Ingredients:
2 tbsp sunflower oil (we used olive!)
3 shallots, finely chopped
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
2 tsp Thai green curry paste
5 cups vegetable stock (or chicken stock - you may need more)
6-8 oz. noodles
2 tsp brown sugar
Juice of about 1/2 lime, to taste
2 chicken breasts shredded OR 8-10 oz of cooked, peeled shrimp
4 handfuls beansprouts
1 bunch scallions, sliced
Cilantro to garnish

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the shallots, ginger, jalapenos, and curry paste, and cook gently for two minutes. Stir in the stock, bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the noodles in a separate pan of boiling water according to the package instructions. Drain and set aside.

Stir the sugar and lime juice into the broth. Add the chicken and cooked noodles, and warm through. Add the beansprouts and scallions, and stir in the cilantro. Ladle the soup into bowls, garnish with extra cilantro, and serve immediately.

Meal Plan for January 3rd to January 9th

First meal plan of the year! On Monday I will be starting Insanity Max: 30, and I am SO EXCITED! I did the first workout when I received the DVDs and it is definitely insane! In order to be properly fueled for my workouts AND get results from this program I have really focused on getting in the right foods according to the meal plan. The meal plan for Insanity Max:30 is the same/similar to the 21 Day Fix meal plan, so I am pretty familiar with the color coded boxes.

My meals are colored coded for each box. However, I do not have as many yellow boxes as the meal plan calls for. I have just recently read the book "The Primal Blueprint" by Mark Sisson, and I loved it! I loved that he has been living this lifestyle and how it has changed his life. Basically we should be eating how the first humans ate. They were hunter-gatherers and were the leanest and most fit humans. Their diet had very little carbohydrates in the forms of grains and wheat, because the technology to cultivate those items weren't available. So I am trying to transfer my diet over to meats, nuts, berries, fish, and as many natural products as possible.

My husband and I really enjoy cooking, so our dinners are pretty creative, but still stick to a pretty simple concept of meat and a vegetable. What I don't have on here is my plan for when I get hungry outside of these planned snacks and meals. For the times that I will crave something, or feel hungrier than normal, I plan on supplementing this plan with additional blue serving of nuts, or another green serving of vegetables in the form of a salad. The primal blueprint eating style doesn't encourage calorie counting, but eating for your needs. If you feel hungry, then EAT! Just make sure you aren't eating foods that are against the goals you have for yourself.

So here it is! We grocery shop on Saturdays, so this meal plan is for today through Friday. If you are interested in the recipes and shopping list for this meal plan, fill out the contact information on the right side of the page, and I will get back to you with the information! If you are interested in the Beachbody color coded containers that I use for this plan, click HERE!

Meal Plan for Saturday, January 3, 2015 to Friday, January 9th
	Sat	Sun	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri
B-Fast	2 eggs w/ spinach, ham Blueberries	2 eggs w/ spinach, ham Blueberries	2 eggs w/ spinach, ham Blueberries	2 eggs w/ avocado and salsa Blueberries	2 eggs w/ avocado and salsa Blueberries	2 eggs w/ avocado and salsa Blueberries	2 eggs w/ avocado and salsa Blueberries
Snack	Mixed Nuts and raspberries	Mixed Nuts and raspberries	Mixed Nuts and raspberries	Avocado and Raspberries	Avocado and Raspberries	Avocado and Raspberries	Avocado and Raspberries
Lunch	Shakeology w/ almond milk	Shakeology w/ almond milk	Shakeology w/ almond milk	Shakeology w/ almond milk	Shakeology w/ almond milk	Shakeology w/ almond milk	Shakeology w/ almond milk
Snack	Plain yogurt w/ honey	Plain yogurt w/ honey	Roasted Chicken w/ Apple	Apple w/ Natural Peanut Butter	Apple w/ Natural Peanut Butter	Apple w/ Natural Peanut Butter	Plain yogurt w/ honey
Dinner	Flank steak w/ shallot wine sauce Roasted Broccoli	Roasted Chicken w/ Root Vegetables Salad w/ dressing	Asian Chicken Soup w/ Salad w/ dressing	Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin w/Roasted Siracha Cauliflower	Grilled Chicken Salad w/ dressing	Shrimp Scampi w/ Zucchini Noodles	Chicken Picatta w/ Zucchini Spirals

It's All About Choices

As 2015 speeds on in I have been thinking about choices. I have been thinking about how each little choice you make in your day takes you on a different path. Our lives are a HUGE combination of these decisions that make our life worthwhile and joyful, or harder than we would like. The new year is notorious for us making choices to better our lives. Never have I heard of someone at the turn of the year, or any time as a matter of fact, WANTING to make a choice that hurts their life. However, those choices that put us on an unwanted path creep up on us all the time. New years resolutions to lose weight aren’t made because of the excellent choice of eating cake and pizza all year long.

I used to HATE the new year because I felt like I had to make that resolution to be healthier. I had to get to the gym and ride that dang elliptical to burn a couple hundred calories. For once, I am going in to the new year healthier than I have been in a long time, and am excited to be on the other side of the equation and helping others start their own health and fitness journey.

There is an awesome book that I read this past year for personal development and it is called “The Compound Effect” by Darren Hardy. I had so many eye opening moments while reading this book and the common theme was that your success in ANYTHING comes down to the choices you make. If you want to be successful in your business, in weight loss, or in parenting, you need to make smart choices and often times those same choices need to be repeated almost until you can do it with your eyes closed. I think about a choice my husband and I made with parenting and our bedtime routine with Matthew. We have done the same exact routine every night since he was born, no matter where we are. Sure, Matthew can throw it off sometimes depending on how he feels that day, but for the most part, bedtime is a smooth, quick transition in our day. Only because we repeated what we found to be successful.

The same goes for aiming to have a healthier life. I know for me personally, the weeks where I consistently meal plan, and eat what I plan to achieve my goals, and repeat the same process, I lose the most weight, and have the most energy. Same goes with Beachbody programs. If you are consistent, do the schedule they provide, and eat the right way, it is nearly impossible to NOT get results. All it comes down to is the choices you make, and how bad you want it!

In Hardy’s book he states that “We all come into this world the same: naked, scared, and ignorant. After that grand entrance, the life we end up with is simply an accumulation of the choices we make.” (p. 23). This is SO true, and when those bad choices keep accumulating we keep getting farther from the life we imagined for ourselves. However, when the good choices we make start accumulating, the SKY IS THE LIMIT, and the whole concept of the compound effect takes place.

In his book Hardy poses a lot of scenarios to show how the compound effect truly works. One of those scenarios was about a choice between an upfront $3 million dollars, or a penny that doubles in value everyday for 31 days - which one would you choose? Initially the $3 million sounds awesome! Instant gratification - us Americans LOVE instant gratification because we don't have to work for anything! The penny option is slow and boring, until the compound effect starts happening, and at the end of the 31 days you have 10 million dollars to spend! I’m learning that the instant gratification isn’t where it’s at. Losing weight, being healthy, being successful in your work or business, isn’t going to come tomorrow, next week, and maybe not even next month. BUT if you make choices that will make you successful, and are consistent with those choices, eventually it will pay off!

My next challenge group is starting on Monday, January 5th. My goal for this year is to help others make positive choices in their lives. To help others take back their life and have the energy they desire to live the life they always wanted and deserve!

If you're interested in my challenge group you can expect to get a fitness program that produces results, the healthiest shake on the market, and FREE support through my Facebook accountability group to ensure that you have what you need to achieve your goals! All you have to do is decide if you are done making those less than stellar choices in your life, and make the ONE choice that can possibly change your life! Fill out your contact information and I will help you find a program that you WILL be excited about!

What are your goals for 2015?

In 2014 I found myself again. I found a church that brought God back in to my life, and I found the 21 Day Fix and exercised my life back. Entering in to my first challenge group opened up an amazing opportunity to be a Beachbody coach to keep me going on my health and fitness journey, and also to help others start and continue on their own. 2014 taught me how to make some time for myself and as a result, I became a better mom, wife, and friend. There were definitely some struggles throughout the year, but overall it was an awesome year filled with many blessings!

In July we moved to Jackson, Mississippi. We uprooted our life and family and moved to a new place where we knew no one, and had zero support. Although it started off a bit rocky with my husband working long hours, and me carrying the responsibilities of the house, things are falling back in to place.

I'm starting to think about what my goals are for 2015, and I have decided to really educate myself on nutrition. Rocking out an awesome workout 5-7 days a week is fairly easy for me, but I tend to delay or ruin my results in the kitchen - which is a struggle for many of us. I have found some awesome resources to start educating myself in this area and hope to spread some of what I learn to my followers. One of the ways I want to start spreading some of that love is by having a monthly FREE clean eating group. If this is something you'd want to be a part of, then fill out your contact information, and I will get you set up in my next group.

What do you want to accomplish in 2015? Do you want to add exercise, change your diet, or strengthen your relationship with God?