21 Day Healthy Holiday Habits Calendar, 21 Day Fix Challenge

Monday is the day! Healthy Holiday Habits Challenge is about to start and I am ecstatic! We have a fabulous group and I'm so excited to see these changes take place. There really is magic created when you have a plan, a dedicated group, and a goal. If you want to follow along with us that would be great! If you want more info on this program and my fitness groups message me at Facebook.com/SunshineandSmoothies. 

The 21 Day Fix meal plan is so easy! I actually keep my menus on my fridge all year long and I cycle through my 4 weeks of eating plans and switch up the meals when I want something different to eat. It is so much easier than having to come up with new ideas for me and my kids whenever we are hungry.
What do my kids eat when I am doing 21 Day Fix? They eat the same things that I do! They eat oats and sweet potatoes for breakfast, except for the picky kids that don't like sweet potatoes, they will have oatmeal and their choice of fruit. I work with them and I let them add extras onto their meals. when we do taco salad they are able to add chips, extra cheese, and even a little ranch dressing. I stick to my simple taco salad with ground beef, beans, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, a little cheese, and salsa for dressing.

Good luck with your own 21 Day Fix adventure! Don't focus on what you can't have, focus on the good things that you are letting yourself have!

21 Day Fix Menu Planner

Planning is everything if you want to succeed in the 21 Day Fix, or 21 Day Fix Extreme program. Set aside some time each weekend to fill out your 21 Day Fix menu for the week. Choose your favorite foods from Autumn's Eating Plan and fill in your meals, making sure you are hitting the correct number of containers for your calorie range. Write down how many containers per day you get at the bottom of your calendar so you don't forget. 

Once your menu is planned you still have the freedom to change your mind and choose different foods whenever you want. Do you want to trade your morning yellow container of sweet potatoes for a couple of corn tortillas? Go for it! Just stick to the foods on the list and stay on track. 

I have noticed that I actually eat MORE when I am on this plan and never really feel hungry. It does take a couple of days to get used to the new portion sizes, especially if you are used to eating much more. 

Please feel free to use and share this menu planner, just leave my website on there. Thanks! 

Now go do your planning! 

Seriously, go!  Don't wait around. 

You'll be glad you did! 

"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail"

Just do it! 

And if you join any of my 21 Day Fix Challenge groups I also give you printable copies of all of my favorite 21 Day Fix tools. Like the Tally Sheets, Menus, (even a 4th week menu for anyone who wants to keep going), and more! 

www.Facebook.com/SunshineandSmoothies 

14 Day Joyful Life Fitness and Meditation Challenge

This month's challenge is going to be an intensely fun 2 weeks of Beachbody on Demand exercises, daily meditation, and pop up challenges! It's going to be amazing! 

If you want to join us, like our Sunshine and Smoothies facebook page and send me a message. It's a private group so I can only add friends to it. It keeps us safe and we are able to be more open with our goals. 

There will be pop-up challenges, prizes, and a whole lotta fun! 

If you want to checkout what Beachbody on Demand is all about, you can see it here. It's kinda like Netflix for workouts. I still haven't touched the potential of this amazing program yet! I like being able to try out the workouts without having to buy them. Plus, the first 30 days is free and it's only 2.99 a week after that. 

If you are wanting a fun way to get back into your workout routine and build some great habits, come join us! 

Message me on Facebook. 

What you pay attention to. (Why diets don't work.)

I haven't been as active with my Beachbody business and it's not for the typical reasons or excuses. I feel like Beachbody focuses so much on weight loss that they miss the big picture of living a healthy life. I know there are so many people that have had great success using Beachbody's programs and I love the workout DVDs that I have! I use them on a regular basis. But I also feel like the coaches are told to sign up anyone and everyone to these programs and if the customers aren't in the right mind set about the program they may make it through the 21 days, or 60 days, or even 90 days but then when it's over they slip back into old habits and put on more weight than they had lost. It happens way too often. Diets don't work.
Diets focus on "don't eat this," and "that will make me fat." I believe in caring for our bodies and choosing to put healthy, nutrient foods into our bodies. To me, this is so different than just dieting. When you focus on what you can't have then that is all you can see. You can't have cake, chocolate, candy, ice cream, cookies, soda. . . . and when they are in the same room as you the taunt you! You can't get them out of your mind. No wonder most diets fail.
Change your thoughts and you will change your life. Focus instead on how great you feel, how delicious your whole foods are, and how thankful you are for your body!


Also, I believe that exercise should be enjoyable. Enjoyable? YES!  If you don't enjoy it you won't continue to make it part of your life. I can't tell you how many times a friend has told me they need to sign back up with their personal trainer because the NEED the motivation but they HATED the workouts. It was too HARD!
If someone told you today, "I want you to start a habit of stepping on a cactus 3 times a week" there is no way you would do it because it's painful. If you want to create a habit you know you will stick with you need to find legit reasons that go beyond wanting to lose weight. Exercise has to be joyful.

Yes, exercise can be hard but I think we all need to change our focus and instead of focusing on what we WEIGH, we need to focus on HEALTH and JOY. Find joy in every workout that you do. If it doesn't bring you some type of joy, immediate or long term, you are doing the wrong type of exercise for you.


I run.
I find that for me running is hard but it brings me joy in so many ways.
1. I love being out in nature and I run next to a canal in the city with golf courses all around. Wild animals like rabbits, ducks, chipmunks, and birds are everywhere! It makes me happy!
2. The joy of the accomplishment is worth the pain. It makes me feel successful and alive!
3. I enjoy the quiet time alone. As much as I love my husband and kids, moms need a break sometimes.
4. I feel STRONG! There is nothing that compares to that feeling of finishing a run and being so thankful that your body was strong enough to finish it and getting excited to do it again tomorrow.

I also really enjoy indoor rock climbing with my sister. It's social time but so much more! Getting to the top of the wall is a rush and sometimes I secretly wish I could live at the climbing gym.

I really do enjoy doing workout DVDs too but I don't enjoy doing them while my family is around. I am self conscious. But, its so nice to have a perfectly planned out workout that I can just pop into my DVD player and sweat along with the trainer on TV. It's almost too simple.



So I want to challenge all of you to find something that you LOVE to do. Find the joy in your workouts. It's there.
If you can't find joy in it then you need to try something new. Try some Yoga (I also LOVE yoga!), hiking, take a spinning class at the gym, or try out a new workout DVD. And allow your motivation to ebb and flow. Sometimes your body will need more rest and sometimes it needs more work. But in the end our bodies adapt to their situation so the more you exercise the more muscle you build and you won't need the fat anymore so your body will start to release it.

Focus on JOY. Focus on HEALTH. Focus on HAPPINESS.
Because what you focus on is what you will see more of.

4 Healthy Eating Habits #2: Find JOY in Food

 

Now that we are practicing being kind and loving to our miraculous bodies, we can start choosing foods that make us feel joyful!

Part 1:

Do you connect your emotions to foods? When I am depressed or angry I dive into a pile of oreo cookies or a giant bowl of Bunny Tracks ice cream. I realize I am trying to fill a hole in my life with food. Food is always there. It never talks back, it never judges me, it never tells me no. Food is comforting. But, in those times of depression, sadness, or anger, is it really food that I need? Most likely not. Though sometimes a lack of food will bring on some of these emotions and food will actually help us feel better, but this isn’t always the case.

What about the opposite? Do you eat when you are happy, celebrating, and joyful? Yes! We celebrate with birthday cake, pizza, donuts, cookies, and cream-filled chocolate-covered pastries.

So it’s quite obvious that we link our emotions to food.

So how do we use this to our advantage when it comes to eating healthy? 

What if we switched things around and instead of eating when we feel sad or happy, we find foods that actually spark joy in our bodies?

God has given us an inner health compass. We are the ultimate authority on what is good or bad for our bodies, we have just lost touch with this gift through years of conditioning. Diet commercials, weight loss pills, mom’s newest diet plan, magazine articles, etc, have told us our whole lives how we should look, what we should eat, and why it’s important to “lose 20 pounds by swimsuit season!”

I want each of you to choose today to take back your authority over you own body! Instead of relying on everyone else’s advice, rely on your inner compass and especially on God’s help (and your doctor, of course). With this in mind, I want you to think about the foods in your kitchen right now. Think about one or two foods in particular right now that would bring health and joy into your life if you ate them. 

Feel free to share with us what those foods are. (This is a judgement free zone.)

Are you surprised by what your body is craving?

 

Here is some back story about me.

I am a health and nutrition fanatic. I love learning about and doing my best to live a healthy life. I believe very strongly that God put foods here on the earth to help us to live to our potential and to heal our bodies.

I started out great, by including more fruits and veggies into our diet, then I started grinding my own wheat and making my own breads and desserts from scratch.

Then I moved on to sourdough starters, probiotics growing on my kitchen counter, soaked and sprouted wheat for my breads, homemade sauerkraut, fresh pressed juice, green smoothies, organic veggies only, grass fed and free range meats, no processed sugar, no natural sugars, switching to coconut and almond flour, only drinking raw milk, only eating raw veggies . . .

I started out on the right road and over a matter of years I spiraled more than a little out of control.

Then I realized that I was spending HOURS in the kitchen everyday OBSESSING about food! I was stressed out and I didn’t feel like my foods were ever healthy enough or clean enough to eat. I ended up eating very little and constantly worrying about whether I was poisoning my kids with the food I was giving them.

This is an actual eating disorder. It’s called Orthorexia and it’s very real. My case was very milk and luckily I was able to take a step back and see what was happening and I saw that my obsession with food was making me so STRESSED that I would most likely die much quicker of a stomach ulcer or stroke from high blood pressure before I would die from some cancer-causing ingredient in that non-organic food I ate.

So I let out the reins and I realized that food can be healthy, taste good, and also be easy and stress free. I chose to keep some of my healthy food practices and dump others that were not serving me well in my life. Life is meant to be lived, not just lived in the kitchen cooking all day.

So I’m going to share with you what works for me. I’m not a licensed nutritionist. I am a nutrition groupie and I have read and learned a lot, and I believe I have a lot of useful insights to share. 

#1. Ask your body what it wants and follow the Word of Wisdom. If it’s been a while, re-read the Word of Wisdom (Doctrine and Covenants section 89). Then, ask and pray about what you should be eating, and listen with the intent of knowing what would be the most useful foods for your body. If you are craving chocolate it is ok to have a little, just don’t overdo it. If your cravings are really intense you may be missing out on some vital nutrients. For instance, an intense craving for chocolate may mean that you are low on magnesium, which is found in chocolate.

 

#2. Try new things! I just learned about 6 months ago that I LOVE sweet potatoes! I eat them mostly for breakfast with coconut oil and cinnamon and they make me feel great! I would have never bought them 6 months ago because my hubby isn’t a fan, but I wanted something new for breakfast and lunch and I knew they were full of good vitamins and minerals. They are now one of my favorite foods ever! Don’t be afraid to try new foods, especially fruits and veggies. Maybe you can ask your friends and family about their favorite veggie recipe and try it out. Also, remember that some foods take a few tries for your taste buds to get used to.

#3. Don’t obsess about food. If you are talking and thinking about food constantly it’s usually a sign that your body needs something. You aren’t getting enough calories or you are missing nutrients, or you possibly could have an addiction. Pray about it and try to see why you are obsessed. When I cut all sugars out of my diet I felt great, but I was super obsessed with food and I talked about it to everyone. It was because my body and brain were being starved of vital carbohydrates and that’s all I could think about. Now that my diet is more balanced I still LOVE to talk about food but I no longer feel like I am obsessed or that I need to tell anyone else what they should be eating.

#4. ENJOY IT! Food should be fun, right? We love the tastes and textures. I noticed that the more processed, sugar and salt laden food I ate the more I couldn’t appreciate the subtle sweetness of a fresh strawberry, the pleasantly bitter taste of romaine lettuce, and even when I was drinking soda I couldn’t even appreciate how refreshing a cold glass of water is.  I like to compare processed food to an eardrum-busting Rock and Roll song playing over a quite symphony. The Rock song takes your eardrums to their limits, and for hours or even days later your ears will continue to ring and you can’t hear or appreciate the small quite sounds of the symphony. Once you turn off the Rock music you can finally start to repair your ears so you can hear and enjoy the beauty of the symphony.

 

Food should bring you joy and energy! Pay close attention to how you feel as you are eating and in the minutes and hours you are finished eating. Your body will tell you if what you ate was good or if you could have made a better choice.

 

Part 2:

The other side of finding joy in food is finding joy in the preparation of food.  I consider food as a hobby for me. I love to cook and bake when I have the time and energy. I do find that cooking can be a burden when I am not prepared or if I am in too big of a hurry.

I recommend starting out by doing what you love in the kitchen. If you love to bake, make it a goal to try new ingredients that are more nutrient dense and have fun with them! And an occasional batch of mom’s homemade chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, with the right ingredients, can be fun, and much healthier treat than a box of grocery store cookies.  The most important ingredient we can add to our baking is love.

Find meals that are fast and tasty. I’ll talk about this more in the next section. Pick recipes that look easy and delicious and be brave enough to try new things. This will keep you out of the monotony of cooking every day. I make my kids breakfast every day of the week. I have chosen recipes that I enjoy making, that are quick and easy, and that are nutrient dense. Those seem to be the 3 most important factors for me: 1. Is it fun? 2.Is it fast? 3. Is it healthy?

Your most important factors may be different than mine. I am a SAHM or 4 active kids, I run my own children’s clothing business out of my home, and I am an avid fitness junky. Throw in church,family, school obligations, and hobbies and you get a little bit of chaos and a lot of fun! I have to be able to throw together a meal in no time flat! I’m sure you all can relate!

 

Now that you are feeling more joy about food and preparing it, let’s move on to step 3: An Ounce of Preperation. (coming soon.)

4 Healthy Eating Habits #1: Start with your WHY

 

Have you said any of these?

“I just feel so fat and I need to lose weight.” 

“I wish I could fit into my high school jeans again.”

“My spouse will find me sexy once I reach my goal weight.”

“I’ll go on that cruise when I lose 30 pounds.”

“I can’t stand looking in the mirror! I just feel so fat and ugly.”

“I don’t want to go swimming until I lose these last 20 pounds. I can’t let anyone see me in a swimming suit until then.”

“I just hate myself because I just can’t stop eating.”

“Why can’t I just look like this woman in this magazine!”

 

God gave us a body blueprint. Each of us is a unique work of art. We are meant to grow and change and reach our potential.

Gardening: a seed contains the entire blueprint for the plant that it CAN become. You wouldn’t plant a corn seed and expect it to grow tomatoes, right?

So why do we, as unique creations, expect to grow up and look like someone else besides ourselves (and our family.)

 

Look at this woman. She is thin, fit, beautiful, and when I look at her I think “I would love to look like that”. But then I see myself in the mirror and realize that my face isn’t symmetrical, I have shorter, more stalky legs, and I could go on and on about how I don’t measure up to her. But the truth is I will NEVER look like this girl. And even more importantly, this girl will never look like this girl either. She went on the Photoshop diet, which is great for your figure and your skin ;) Her looks are NOT in my genetic blueprint so trying to be like this girl would be fighting an uphill battle that I will eventually lose.

Think about all of the pressure and high expectations we hear and see from society on a daily basis. Even our family members will tell you that they think you are too fat, to thin, you don’t exercise enough, you don’t take care of yourself the way you should, or if you would just eat this food or do this thing your problems would go away.

I’m here to tell you that the only people that know who you are and what you are capable of being and looking like, are you and your Heavenly Father.

I asked my friends on Facebook what they would do differently, or how their lives would change if they woke up tomorrow at their goal weight. The answers literally brought me to tears. I have been blessed in my life to not have to deal much with weight issues. I have never been more than 20 pounds from my weight goal (expect when I was pregnant.) Some of these women talked about how they would finally find happiness if they didn’t have to worry about losing weight anymore.  One friend was so caught up in the weight “game” that she couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to finally have peace and not have to worry about her weight.

One of my friends who I respect very deeply said this:

“I would be able to find clothes ANYWHERE instead of little bits and pieces of plus-size clothing shoved into shamey corners in stores. And the clothes would fit me correctly!!!
I would go running without fear of blowing out my knees and I would do all the yoga poses I can't right now because of bulk.
I would more confidently speak my mind knowing that I wouldn't be so easily dismissed as That Crazy Cranky Fat Lady.
I'd take more risks with my appearance. Even more edgy hair, earrings, shoes. And those things would FIT ME. Finally. Stuff that FITS.
I'd so enjoy social interactions without that element of patronizing concern when people want to tell me about their latest diet or weight loss remedy. It doesn't happen that often, but...
I would finally relax about the pictures my family takes at outings instead of coming across ones beloved relatives post that make me look horrible.
I'd go get a massage, this time without the massage therapist making all sorts of comments like "don't worry, my table is wide enough for people like you".
I'd go play at the water park with my kid and slide down ALL THE SLIDES in my adorable regular-sized swimsuit. My butt would NOT get stuck in the slide and my swimsuit will fit me so well it won't flip up as I fly off the end!
I'd go to Hawaii and enjoy "one size fits all" dresses because they would FIT.
I'd buy and wear lingerie. Oh yeah baby. And jeans. I would be able to find good jeans that make my butt look great, and maybe I wouldn't have a breakdown everytime I visit a store fitting room.
My husband would be able to sweep me up into his arms and over a threshold at some B&B somewhere.

it would also be nice to not get situations, like the one where the scoutmaster in the ward said he was thinking about asking me to go on a hike with my son's troop. and that he once knew a really heavy woman who could outhike lots of men, and if I'm that kind of heavy woman.
Or getting talks about obeying the word of wisdom better (because if I'm fat obviously I'm not, I guess)
wow. human interaction would feel different. I know because I've BEEN thinner. People treated me very very differently. I never had to ask for help getting something off a high shelf in a store (because I'm short too).”

 

I cried as I read through all these responses and realized that there is a hugely unaddressed problem in our society. People somehow look at anyone who is overweight or obese and they automatically assume they are lazy and that the weight is just a problem that needs to be addressed.

I used to think this too. But wisdom is power and I know better now.

I feel like in all of my study, research, and other endless information that I pour over each day, that the more I learn about health and weight loss, the more I realize that excess weight is a symptom of something deeper. It is rarely ever cause by just someone wanting to be lazy and not caring about what they eat.

But this class isn’t about weight loss. It’s about Eating Healthy in a Hurry! So why am I starting with such a deep and sensitive subject?

Most people that I talk to “eat healthy” to lose weight. I’m sure it’s a big reason why most of you are in this class. But I want to switch gears and change your perspective.

 

How many of you got up this morning and looked in the mirror and said to yourself “Good Morning beautiful! You are amazing, vibrant, and perfect EXACTLY the way you are today!”

No one?

How about “You are a beautiful daughter of God, and he loves you no matter the size of your body or what weight the scale says.”

 

No go with me. Pretend like you are holding a mirror. Not repeat this after me. “I am a beautiful daughter of God.     And He loves me for who I am, not what size I am!”

How does that feel?

To take care of our body, first we need to LOVE our body. Don’t punish it. It is doing exactly what it is supposed to be doing according to your situation. Extra weight is a buffer. Your body puts on extra weight as a cushion from the world, as well as to prepare for the future. So it adapts according to your situation. Appreciate that it is working properly and doing the very best that it can.

Learning to love our bodies can take time because we have all been raised in a society that has taught us to hate them. Look at yourself everyday and remind yourself that you are a beautiful daughter of God and your body is your greatest gift that God has given you. It is a tool to connect to the world. It allows you to serve, to love, and to experience joy and happiness. Be thankful for it!

 

Now, after all of that, we need to decide on WHY we want to eat healthy.

 

A healthy body means. . .

1. Longer life with less pain.

2. I can serve others in greater capacity

3. I can feel more joy, more happiness

4. My mind will be more clear to hear The Spirit

5. I can enjoy my family more fully

6. I will be able to DO more to influence the world for good.

These and many more are REAL reasons why we want to treat our bodies with love and respect and feed them accordingly. You can make your reasons as general or specific as you need to but WRITE THEM DOWN! Whatever you do, do not skip this step!!!

Once we have them written down, move on to the next lesson.

 

Next lesson: Finding Joy in Food (coming soon)

Technorati Tags: Eating healthy in a hurry,health and nutrition,loving yourself,start with why,finding happiness

Nutrition, Exercise, Sleep. How to keep your physical health in balance.

I admit it.

I've got tunnel vision sometimes and I can only see that one thing that I am caught up in. I am a self proclaimed nutrition nerd and I LOVE reading about how what we eat effects our bodies and our lives.

BUT here is the problem. There's more to our physical health than just nutrition.

 

We have to keep a steady balance of these 3 areas of our physical health to feel our best. Nutrition, Exercise, and Sleep.  Skip out on one of these and your health will start to take a dive.
I know. . .

I've been there.

I mostly forget the importance of a good nights sleep. I was an insomniac in college and it's so easy to fall back into those patterns, especially when my kids are sleeping and the house is calm and quiet and I can work for hours uninterrupted.
As part of my goals for this year, I am choosing to shut down my brain and my business at 11:00 pm and get myself into my cozy bed. I'm a MUCH happier person when I am not tired and I tend to make better eating choices too. Did you know that if you are sleep deprived your body tries to make up for it by craving extra carbs? Yikes!

So 30 minutes before you should go to bed. . . just go to bed! 


During the daytime keep as active as possible. If you are working at a desk job, get up and walk around. Maybe take a walk on your lunch break. Or get up extra early and move yo body! I have some really good short workout DVDs that will make you feel like a million bucks. Just ask!

Nutrition is VERY VERY important. But remember that exercise and sleep are just as important for your overall health and well being. Check your self and see if you are in balance.

21 Day Fix Menu - Week 3

21 Day Fix menu for week 3 is done! We will also have a Week 4 menu since we have turned our group from 21 days to 28 days to accommodate our wonderful participants.

See our other menus here:
Week 1
Week 2


Use this menu as a guide, be sure you are using a tally sheet or something that can help you keep track of your colors.


Feel free to share this menu, I just ask that you don't remove my website :) Thanks!