I was just looking at the Eat Clean Diet Cookbook on Amazon and I saw some people said the recipes take too long and have too many unusual ingredients. I know you use this book a lot and I was wondering what you thought.
I was just looking at the Eat Clean Diet Cookbook on Amazon and I saw some people said the recipes take too long and have too many unusual ingredients. I know you use this book a lot and I was wondering what you thought.
There are many many unusual recipes in this book and she is a carb queen for sure. Everything is all natural down to the sugar. I haven't made myself sit down and make anything but it all looks yummy!
I was just looking at the Eat Clean Diet Cookbook on Amazon and I saw some people said the recipes take too long and have too many unusual ingredients. I know you use this book a lot and I was wondering what you thought.
Oh, people will complain about anything.
I LOVE her recipes, honestly. I'm scarfing down her veggie lasagna right now. Great thing is, she includes calories per portion, so I can plug the numbers right into FitDay PC and track what I make. Some of her recipes are rather INVOLVED, yes...but she gives you so many options, all of which (in my experience) taste great, so if you're short on time, why on earth would you pick a dish with the longest ingredient list? You wouldn't.
Took me 15 minutes to prep the meatballs Monday night. Stuck them in the oven for 20, then straight into the fridge for future meals.
She's completely changed how I feel about "healthy food" - at one time, it used to be synonymous with "dry and bland" in my mind. Now I think my healthy meals are some of the most delicious meals I've ever had.
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Originally Posted by dillytl
That's exactly how I felt about TUESDAY!!! Good for you getting your workout in anyway!
Wednesday is continuing to suck! And the terrible thing about not getting enough sleep is that I'm craving junk foods and chocolate. Booo! I'm going to bed at 8 tonight if I can swing it.
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Originally Posted by MuscleMom23
There are many many unusual recipes in this book and she is a carb queen for sure. Everything is all natural down to the sugar. I haven't made myself sit down and make anything but it all looks yummy!
She does like her carbs, but when you're working out regularly, you also need them. She also likes to use about a million different spices or fresh herbs, but that's not really a problem for me, because there's a bulk spice wall at the local health food store where I can stock up for pennies.
Why do people on Amazon have to be such grouches about everything?
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"Men are taught to apologize for their weaknesses, women for their strengths." - Lois Wyse
Regarding your co-worker....I think this is pretty common. It's sort of like the women with babies and all they talk about is their baby. For someone single with no kids or who can't have kids, it can get tiresome. Or anyone else who has a hobby they talk about non-stop in which you have no interest. Same thing with fitness. For someone who isn't on that path (which is their choice), it's probably hard for them to hear about it day in and day out -- similar to those other situations above. What are her interests? Maybe spend some time talking about what is important to her. Then, she may be more apt to be open to talking about your interests.
Regarding your co-worker....I think this is pretty common. It's sort of like the women with babies and all they talk about is their baby. For someone single with no kids or who can't have kids, it can get tiresome. Or anyone else who has a hobby they talk about non-stop in which you have no interest. Same thing with fitness. For someone who isn't on that path (which is their choice), it's probably hard for them to hear about it day in and day out -- similar to those other situations above. What are her interests? Maybe spend some time talking about what is important to her. Then, she may be more apt to be open to talking about your interests.
Nah, she was just bitching. I'm being flip, but we're friends as well as partners. Since we work so closely, we talk about everything. And I definitely do NOT talk about fitness all day - we talk about boys, NOT having babies (there's a bout of pregnancy going around the office), we talk about work, music, everything. And sure, going to the gym comes up, because it's something I've dedicated myself to, and she even goes to the same gym I do (OCCASIONALLY, for light cardio).
I think sometimes people don't even realize they're being antagonistic and unsupportive. If I were to call her on it, she's the type of person who would puff up and say, "You're being too sensitive!" She's got a bit of a reputation for being mean.
I had a boyfriend once who was totally unsupportive as well. But it was subtle. For instance, if we were having lunch together and I passed on having cheese on a sandwich, he'd be like, "Why aren't you eating cheese?" I'd explain that I was watching what I was eating, working out, and I just didn't need it, and he would say, "Why don't you just eat what you want?" Not, "Oh, you're beautiful as you are, but I'm behind you 100%," but rather, he'd try to get me to abandon my principles for the day.
I don't know what makes people act this way. I'm sure we all do it from time to time. But at least on the fitness/health front, I try to be supportive of my friends and coworkers and encourage them in anything they've expressed an interest in improving.
I guess it's kinda like how there's always THAT guy at a party who's saying, "Why aren't you drinking? Why don't you drink MORE? Want another drink?" when you've had your glass of wine and don't care for more.
Enablers.
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"Men are taught to apologize for their weaknesses, women for their strengths." - Lois Wyse
I had a boyfriend once who was totally unsupportive as well. But it was subtle. For instance, if we were having lunch together and I passed on having cheese on a sandwich, he'd be like, "Why aren't you eating cheese?" I'd explain that I was watching what I was eating, working out, and I just didn't need it, and he would say, "Why don't you just eat what you want?" Not, "Oh, you're beautiful as you are, but I'm behind you 100%," but rather, he'd try to get me to abandon my principles for the day.
I don't know what makes people act this way. I'm sure we all do it from time to time. But at least on the fitness/health front, I try to be supportive of my friends and coworkers and encourage them in anything they've expressed an interest in improving.
I guess it's kinda like how there's always THAT guy at a party who's saying, "Why aren't you drinking? Why don't you drink MORE? Want another drink?" when you've had your glass of wine and don't care for more.
Enablers.
OMG you are talking about my family. Out one side of the mouth they say your'e fat lose weight, your'e getting big! On the other, let's go to so and so place to eat all fried food, or why aren't you eating this or that. AAARRRGGGGHHHHHHH. Are they happy that I am fat now? NOOOO
OMG you are talking about my family. Out one side of the mouth they say your'e fat lose weight, your'e getting big! On the other, let's go to so and so place to eat all fried food, or why aren't you eating this or that. AAARRRGGGGHHHHHHH. Are they happy that I am fat now? NOOOO
Sorry for hijacking your log to rant
Don't be sorry! I think everyone knows someone like this. I'm more blown away that my current boyfriend is really supportive than I was that my last boyfriend wasn't. He's the kind of guy I can say to, "Let's go out for dinner," without him being like, "Aren't you on a DIET?" and yet, he's still supportive of my healthy eating. It's brilliant, I don't know how he does it!
The best I can think of is that people just don't like change.
I was reading Life of Pi a while ago and there's this big long passage about how animals behave in zoos. People assume animals in zoos are miserable because they don't have their freedom. But really, they're being fed regularly, they get to live without fear, they don't have to defend their territory, and so on. And the part that stuck with me was this - why would an animal leave the safety of an enclosure for the possible danger of the outside? They don't know what lies outside the zoo walls.
Put another way, it's this: "A known bad is better than an unknown worse." Tongue in cheek, of course, because often times the "unknown" is better than the known. But that's how a lot of people think.
Better to have fat mommy, because we know how she acts (or fat girlfriend, because I know she loves me), than to have a thin and fulfilled mommy, because we don't know how she'll act. (Will we never eat Chinese food again??)
Be firm in your choices and they'll see that nothing really changes for them...hopefully. Or you could try talking to them about it.
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"Men are taught to apologize for their weaknesses, women for their strengths." - Lois Wyse
My favorite thing to do at night lately is to sit on the floor (in front of them, um, TV =oD) and stretch out my hamstrings. They've always been tight. My hams are probably my least flexible body part, going way back to when I was in middle school and high school and on the tennis team.
It's just so gratifying to release tension from the muscles and see steady improvement in my flexibility, all from just sitting on the floor and reaching forward every so often.
I made it through my sleepy day mostly unscathed - I went to the health food store over lunch and bought myself some more tea (didn't need to spend the money) and a bar of dark chocolate with coconut, cashews, and mango, and had a square of the chocolate back at work. Which was better than pretty much any other idea I had regarding my sweet tooth.
It seems like every week I go through this process of talking myself out of any progress I've made. Like, I start to think maybe my measurements are all off and I haven't really lost any weight or gained any muscle. But with somewhere around 53lbs of fat on my body right now (and the goal being 25lbs of fat, or something like 16% body fat - give or take a few pounds), of COURSE I'm not going to be able to SEE all the progress that's being made. Sometimes I look in the mirror and think I see a difference - a shadow on my stomach, my chin a little tighter - but then I look again and it's gone. So which is closer to the truth? What I see? Or what I talk myself out of seeing?
Only time will tell! There's no other way to do this journey than through hard work in the weight room, cardio, and good nutrition.
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"Men are taught to apologize for their weaknesses, women for their strengths." - Lois Wyse
Woman! Look at those weights you are lifting!!! You can't be making all these awesome strength changes and be all wishy-washy about whether your body is changing or not!
Just a little kick in the pants for ya. I'm about to start my first workout today. I'm sure I'll need my own kick eventually.
You are doing amazing things for yourself, and even when you have those dark moments, it's obvious that you are confident on your path.
That chocolate bar sounds marvelous and really making me wish I had something like that handy. I, too, have been having sleeping issues and finding it damn-near impossible to not eat everything in sight. Add in this disgusting stomach bug I've been fighting the last couple days and I feel like a train wreck.
I enjoyed your quote about the "known and unknown" and I had to sit here for several minutes really letting that sink in. It really put things in perspective (and shaped up my attitude and self-pitying) about how I've felt the last couple weeks. What I've known has been priceless lessons-good and bad, but it's my unknown potential that keeps me going and I think I needed that reminder to start appreciating what could be instead of focusing on what was.
Woman! Look at those weights you are lifting!!! You can't be making all these awesome strength changes and be all wishy-washy about whether your body is changing or not!
Just a little kick in the pants for ya. I'm about to start my first workout today. I'm sure I'll need my own kick eventually.
Desirae
Ha! Yes, thank you. Perspective! And you put it so succinctly. You're right, I'm getting stronger by the week. That's not nothing.
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Originally Posted by LoriAnne
You are doing amazing things for yourself, and even when you have those dark moments, it's obvious that you are confident on your path.
That chocolate bar sounds marvelous and really making me wish I had something like that handy. I, too, have been having sleeping issues and finding it damn-near impossible to not eat everything in sight. Add in this disgusting stomach bug I've been fighting the last couple days and I feel like a train wreck.
The chocolate bar is great - dark chocolate, not too bitter. Just a square will do ya.
I'm sorry you have the stomach bug! I caught it in early January and it was NASTY. I pretty much thought I was going to die, alone, and that my cats were going to eat my face. So my sympathies are with you, 100%.
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Originally Posted by LoriAnne
I enjoyed your quote about the "known and unknown" and I had to sit here for several minutes really letting that sink in. It really put things in perspective (and shaped up my attitude and self-pitying) about how I've felt the last couple weeks. What I've known has been priceless lessons-good and bad, but it's my unknown potential that keeps me going and I think I needed that reminder to start appreciating what could be instead of focusing on what was.
Yes, I think that's true for me, too. I've always been the kind of person who welcomes change as an opportunity to grow, see new things, etc. The unknown for me is that tight, fit body, and that's what I keep reaching for.
Because really, in this case, the unknown is whatever you make it. You can have whatever you want, whatever you make.
Whew. Powerful!
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"Men are taught to apologize for their weaknesses, women for their strengths." - Lois Wyse
I'm having another cranky, discouraged day. It's like clockwork. What the hell? I only had under 1700 calories planned (I don't know WHY), but the crank and the hungry, coupled with going to this bar that my mom was singing at, prompted me to eat more. I had a salad with strawberries, pine nuts, and goat cheese, and some unknown vinaigrette. Best guess, it brings my calories up to around 1915 today. Not too much damage for a cranky day...
And this picture helps a lot. Where did the roasted chicken come from?? No one knows! He was so hungry, he couldn't even wait for his healthy food to grill! And it's all ready to go!
I think we've all had days like this:
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"Men are taught to apologize for their weaknesses, women for their strengths." - Lois Wyse
It seems like every time I get on the scale, it hovers around 190. Last week, I weighed in at 188.4. Victory! Than this week, 190.6. Yes, I'm getting enough water. I'm eating clean, lots of protein. Not too much salt. I have been doing all my workouts, 3 days of lifting and 2-3 days of HIIT a week.
My waist measurement has also not been moving downward regularly. Again, it seems like every time I measure, depending on time of day, it stays between 32" and 33".
The body fat measurements seem to be going down, but if you couple a few bad measurements with the above, I haven't lost nearly as much fat as I would have liked. Maybe the needle hasn't been going down regularly.
I ate on average 1870 calories this week. And for what? For a progress I can't even really measure?
So I'm discouraged. Not sure where to go from here. Probably need to take calories back up for a while. Don't really want to maintain 190lbs on 1900 calories.
I know my body adapts pretty quickly, but I've had good luck with weight lifting and intervals in the past, so where is it now?
This is never as straightforward as it should be.
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"Men are taught to apologize for their weaknesses, women for their strengths." - Lois Wyse
I'm sorry you're frustrated. I feel frustrated too (scale hovering without a clear downward progression).
I don't have any answers for you, but I just wanted to let you know that it makes me crazy sometimes when people just say: "eat less! exercise more!" like that's the only thing about it. Well, sometimes it is more tricky than that. And sometimes it's more tricky in a way that even if that is the end result to success, you still have to find out what way it will work for you. If eating less makes you cranky as hell and prone to binging, then it's not a workable solution. That doesn't mean we don't have control, it just means that it might not be as easy to find the solution as "eat less." It's more like: "eat less HOW?"
And sometimes the scale just sticks--truly it does. I would recommend staying the course for another week and remaining at your current cals, exercise, water, and protein intake, and then reassessing. If the scale or the measurements haven't changed again, then maybe it will time to change things. But sometimes these things do just take time to work through our bodies. I personally find patience with myself the hardest struggle of all.
I'm sorry you're frustrated. I feel frustrated too (scale hovering without a clear downward progression).
I don't have any answers for you, but I just wanted to let you know that it makes me crazy sometimes when people just say: "eat less! exercise more!" like that's the only thing about it. Well, sometimes it is more tricky than that. And sometimes it's more tricky in a way that even if that is the end result to success, you still have to find out what way it will work for you. If eating less makes you cranky as hell and prone to binging, then it's not a workable solution. That doesn't mean we don't have control, it just means that it might not be as easy to find the solution as "eat less." It's more like: "eat less HOW?"
And sometimes the scale just sticks--truly it does. I would recommend staying the course for another week and remaining at your current cals, exercise, water, and protein intake, and then reassessing. If the scale or the measurements haven't changed again, then maybe it will time to change things. But sometimes these things do just take time to work through our bodies. I personally find patience with myself the hardest struggle of all.
I feel like the scale has been sticking since I started, at the end of January.
Last March, I was doing the BFL workouts, and eating as much food as I felt I needed (which, when I tracked, was actually pretty low - 1500 calories, I would guess). It was simple, easy, and I lost 11lbs of fat in a month and saw the scale drop 8lbs.
Then, of course, major plateau. For someone who's BMR is in the area of 1700 calories, eating less than that was a big mistake - even if I wasn't hungry for it. I got majorly stuck, things got out of hand, and I fell off the wagon. Now, to be fair, I still ate well and maintained that loss, hovering around 186 and keeping off about 8lbs of fat.
So I have to keep reminding myself that I am capable of losing fat. But a few things come to mind...
1) I think my body adapts pretty quickly. Good for building strength, bad for cutting calories. I've been averaging 1800-1900 calories for a solid three to four weeks, and my progress seems to have halted...
2) I'm wondering if the NROL4W workouts aren't counterproductive, to some extent. I'm toying with the idea of switching to the NROL Fat Loss stages instead. I have to give this more thought. On first glance, they're not so different - heavy sets. There are shorter rests in the Fat Loss plans. And I'm no trainer, so maybe there are other differences I can't see. Either way, I like Alwyn's workouts. They're tough and make me feel like a warrior princess.
3) I gain muscle easily. Which is fantastic, except I want to lose fat.
I'm cutting myself some slack today. I skipped the weight room - I'll go tomorrow morning, instead, when I'm not putting so much pressure on myself to be perfect. I feel so much better about myself when I'm just focusing on the exercise and not trying to cut calories, so honestly, if I bump up calories for a while, it may do just as much good for my morale as it does for my metabolism.
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"Men are taught to apologize for their weaknesses, women for their strengths." - Lois Wyse
I'm cutting myself some slack today. I skipped the weight room - I'll go tomorrow morning, instead, when I'm not putting so much pressure on myself to be perfect. I feel so much better about myself when I'm just focusing on the exercise and not trying to cut calories, so honestly, if I bump up calories for a while, it may do just as much good for my morale as it does for my metabolism.
LMAO!! (Sometimes, I just can't help myself.)
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