Happy New Year everyone! It's finally 2017! :D
I'm sure a lot of you have New Years resolutions this year just like every year before. I've set so many goals over the years myself. Many of them have gone into fruition but many more have been complete failures. One of my New Years resolutions for 2016 was to loose 40 pounds by the end of the year. In my head I was thinking 40 pounds is not a lot of weight! I can knock that out in 4-5 months if I really push myself. However, I still was not in the mindset to completely change my habits. I was already a vegetarian but I was an unhealthy one. I ate fries and Easy Mac cups a lot because I just didn't want to take the time to cook anything. I was lazy and bored with my food but at the same time I ate constantly. I began to take myself seriously a few weeks into the year but there were major setbacks too. When I get stressed out I tend to overeat or go on a junk food spree. Meaning I go to the store and buy junk food from each "category of trash"- haha. 1 bag of chips, 1 chocolate bar, 1 bag of candy (usually sour gummy bears), 1 baked item (cookies, brownies, or cake) and 1 soda. Then I would sit down and eat everything while binge watching a show on Netflix for the entire afternoon. It was my way of coping with all the stress I was under. After I got serious and fed up with my body and my unhealthy habits I started looking for ways to get it under control. Instead of devoring the candy aisle I grabbed my sneakers, slipped on a pair of yoga pants, put on my headphones and headed to the gym. Something as simple as working out instead of pigging out allowed me to loose 5 pounds in the first month! I wasn't going to the gym regularly yet. I was only going when I was stressed and I still lost a significant amount of weight. I didn't lose 40 pounds last year. I lost 25 and I am SO PROUD OF MYSELF! I've blogged about my journey already and what my mindset was like before I lost weight so to come from hating myself to looking in the mirror and smiling is a really big deal. I challenge all of you to find that peace of mind in 2017. Set a weight goal but don't beat yourself up about it if you don't reach it in the time frame that you want. It's about the road and the other changes you see in yourself too that count. I could have lost the 40 pounds in 4 months but what if I didn't gain anything else? What if I was the same woman who ate like a garbage truck and couldn't find anything positive to say about her body? What if I remained afraid to move, dance, speak, LIVE? The emotional, mental, and spirirtual changes that happened in me because of the weight loss is more important than the actual numbers. I'm more proud of that than anything else. What are my resolutions/goals for the new year? 1. Read more books I already read a ridiculous amount because I'm an English Education major but I really do want to take a step back from social media and television watching and start picking up books to read instead. Habits are really hard to kick so I want to start off by just cutting back and then maybe I'll do a 30-day cleanse later on. 2. Go Vegan I promised myself before Thanksgiving that I would give Veganism a try in 2017. Vegetarianism is just giving up eating meat but veganism is giving up eating and wearing any animal or animal by-products. That includes meat and products like milk, cheese, honey, and eggs. No more "regular" pizza and icecream! This is going to be difficult I already know it but I will try my best to stick to the goal. There are also a lot of vegan subsitutes for these items so I'll be blogging my reviews about those this year. 3. Gain Financial Freedom I'm a 21-year old college student who still heavily relies on her parents support. I know I can't gain complete financial freedom right now but partial freedom would be great-haha. I have 3 more semesters until I graduate from university so I'm hoping to procure a savings account with enough money to support myself when I finally leave the nest. 4. Spiritual Readiness Right now I don't have a church home where I live. I've visited and tried to become active at one church but going into 2017 I want to find a place where I feel I truly belong. My goal for the year is to finally make that happen and also get my spiritual mindset back on track. I've already started journaling and doing devotions everyday in the later part of December so I want to continue on that path. My relationship with God has gotten better in recent years but it can always be stronger! There's a lot of great spirirual bloggers out there that have helped. My favorite right now is a woman named Heather Lindsey. I've read one her books and I've been following her for a while on her blog and with her YouTube channel. That woman is a powerhouse of knowledge and she has helped me to become accountable to my faith and realize all that I need to change within myself to remain in God's favor. I urge you to check out her content and even attend her annual conference (Pinky Promise) in Atlanta. This will be the first year that I attend and I'm interested in going with a group :) http://www.heatherllindsey.com/ 5. Refocus on Veggiversity and my Other Passions I am sure it has not gone unnoticed that I haven't blogged since October lol. I tried to sneak back in here and just go with the flow but people have asked me when I was going to do updates for a while now. I always say "I'm so stressed with school" but that really isn't the only reason. Another reason I was gone was because I simply didn't know what to write about. I started feeling insignificant, small and it got into my head that I was through sharing and no one was listening. I know now that that just is not true. If you've ever felt like you had nothing to say just start writing and it will flow! I didn't even know I was going to write this much for this blog post! Writer's block is annoying and I had it for 3 months so I understand. What you have to do is keep pushing through it. Sit down somewhere, grab a pen and paper or a computer and just write whatever comes to mind. Something is there, it's just waiting to be released. Along with this blog I do have other things I want to keep working on in 2017. I'm a poet too and I want to keep using my voice to inspire others. I've entered a collegiate competition with 5 of my works recently and I should hear if I won or place in January. I'll keep you guys posted. Cross your fingers and toes for me! I also want to get at least one poem published this year. I'll be writing constantly from now on. There's literally no better therapy. 6. Let go of Negative Behaviors and People One thing to know about me is I hate confrontations and I shy away from drama and drama filled people. However, sometimes it can be easy to get sucked into a gossip fest or start bashing others. In 2017 I want to start focusing on keeping my life positive and my nose and judgements out of other peoples lives. I wouldn't say I have any negative people in my life right now but there may be some that I can take a step back from as I work on myself. As we all get older we need to realize that some friends really are seasonal. I've always been the type of person that someone could have no contact with for 5 years but the minute we see each other again it's like nothing has changed. I like to think I'm consistent with my friendships but sadly the college phase is coming to an end. In some cases that means letting go of people that have lives moving in different directions. 7. Challenge Myself/Get out of my Comfort Zone Personally what helps to get me out of my comfort zone is surrounding myself with people that are doing the same thing. My boyfriend is one of my biggest supporters. He's always telling me to go for what I want and stop second guessing myself when it comes to all the creative aspects of my life like my poetry and this blog. It's important to associate yourself with people that push you to excel and be your best self. Something that I've been thinking about doing for the last few years is voice acting. I don't necessarily want to make it a career but it would be brilliant if I could voice a character on a show or animated short at least one time. I'm not sure if I can make it happen in 2017 but it's on the list. 8. Work on my Procrastination, Budgeting, and Time Management Skills It's almost embarrasing how bad I am at all three of these things. I was late to almost every single one of my classes every day this semester, I spent money without checking my back account, I was a firm believer in the "treat yourself" mentality, and I'm always doing things at the absolute last minute possible. It got so bad that one of my professors had to ask me if everything was alright because I was late to his class so much! In 2017 all of this changes! If I don't do anything else I will be successful with number 8 on this list. All the cool time management and budget apps I start using this year I'll let you guys know about. The one thing I did today was sign up for Credit Karma. You can get your FREE credit score on there and start getting organized about spending and repaying loans. Today I realized I had a past due bill that was sent to collections that I didn't even know about! I have half a mind to think that it's some mistake because the bill doesn't even look familiar. That mishap has been on my score report for the entire year and it brought down my score. Knowing what's on your report is super important this year and moving forward. I want to start being accountable from now on. 9. Have Healthy Hair, Skin, and Nails I'm #teamnatural and in 2016 I finally started doing protective hairstyles. I did braids, twists, and crochet twists so far and I've loved all of them. For this new year I want to start drinking more water, using organic products on my skin, and taking a multivitamin that is used specifically for this so I can see some postive results. I said before that I wanted to move this blog into a lifestyle blog and not just food so I'm excited to get started on that and start doing some product reviews when I get some extra cash to try new things. 10. Continue to Love Myself A lot changed for me in 2016. I started smiling and laughing more, I wasn't so afraid of my body, I stopped saying mean things about my body to myself and to others, I was in more pictures with other people, and I could honestly say I was happy to be me. This year if anyone asks you if you "love yourself" and you can't honestly say "YES!" work on that so you can one day. Before you can do anything you have to be confident in who you are as a person. What helped me was falling on my knees and praying every chance I got, reading spirirtual books for comfort and knowledge, exercising, eating healthy foods, surrounding myself with positive people, and focusing on my passions. Life is so much more than the every day. What are you working on for 2, 5, 10 years down the road? Be ambitious this year, travel more this year, start saving and building your wealth, start a brand or a business! Just do it for you and no one else. Always remember happiness is a journey and there is no final destination. We can reach it but there is more to discover around the next bend. Comment below about your New Years resolutions. I would love to read them! Stay Golden this year and I hope you reach your goals <3 Love, Tyra
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Over the weekend I went to my friends apartment and I'm helping her pick out an outfit. We are going out to celebrate our mutual friends 22nd birthday later that night. I'm in her room acting like a judge on Project Runway and taking selfies when I spot her scale in the bathroom. I haven't stepped on one in weeks. I ask her if her scale works and she says yeah so I jump on it, with my shoes on mind you, fully expecting to see the same number that's been flashing in my face for the past few months.
I want to be honest with you guys. I've been slacking BIG TIME on my fitness and the reason why is school. Most days I'm really overwhelmed with what I have to do and in the past I've used exercise as a way to fight back my anxiety but for some reason I started to believe the notions that I was "too busy" and "too tired" to ever go. Since school started in August I've maybe been to the gym about 5 times. Anyway, I step on the scale and see a number 7 pounds less than it should be. I tell my friend I think her scale is broken! lol This can't be true! I haven't been to the gym in weeks! She said that the scale is accurate so I take my heels off and try again. It tells me around the same number and I spaz out! I couldn't believe that I lost over 5 pounds basically doing nothing but living my life. I think that says a lot about pressure and a lot about food. My sister always tells me "its 10% exercise but 90% food. That's how you lose weight. Focus more on what you are eating at every meal. Cut down and cut out bad foods and you'll see the pounds slide off." Well I'd done that before but ended up having nothing to show for it so I thought my body was the type that needed physical exertion to lose any pounds. Looking back I know that I was eating some healthy food but they were still HUGE meals and what I ate together on one plate didn't make any sense. For example, I'd gobble down an everything bagel in the morning, eat nothing for lunch, and at dinner eat 2 cups of spaghetti then munch on some wheat garlic bread, then for a midnight "snack" have some backed potatoes with butter and an instant mac and cheese cup and call it a day. I actually thought I was on the right track! What makes this time different for me is that I knew how to make a good plate of food that had the right nutrients and a good balance of what I needed that day (I'll do a more detailed post about what you should have on your plate later). And luckily because school kept me so busy I didn't eat as much as I usually do so I was cutting back on extra snacks. Instead of snacks I started drinking tea or warm milk at night-time so I could fall asleep. I think also that because I wasn't actively thinking about losing weight I started losing weight. The whole process can be so stressful and annoying at times and because of that it may hinder you from getting to the body size you want to be (it's been proven that stress causes weight gain). When my classes started demanding more of my attention I thought less about my body and more about my grades and although I was more exhausted, I was happier. For once I didn't care anymore. And not in a bad way like I could gain 100 lbs and not blink an eye, I mean when my friend asked how my weight loss journey was going i'd say, "It's not really going but I'm fine with that. I'm eating healthy and I'm happy with my body. So what did you get for question 2." I felt liberated! My body and what I was doing to "make it better" was no longer a worthy topic of conversation for me. Since really starting this journey at the beginning of 2016 I've lost a total of 22 pounds. That's 2 pounds more than my half goal which is amazing. Do you know what else happened that really surprised me? My goal weight changed too! I use to be obsessed with the number 40. I saw it everywhere you'd think I wrote it on my eyeballs but since losing some weight and learning to love my body what was it is I've come to realize that I don't have to lose 40 pounds to be beautiful. I could stay this weight I am right now forever and be content and that's the amazing thing about believing in yourself. It changed everything. Now you might not be where you want to be, I fully understand that, but the most important thing to do and I've written about this before is learn to love yourself first and just stop obsessing!!! I promise you if you eat the right foods, exercise, drink water, and rest you will lose weight. Money back guaranteed if you don't :) Keep on loving yourself! Tyra Don't kill me!
I know, I know, it's been a month since I've posted. Where have I been you ask? Well in the library writing research papers, falling asleep at my desk chair in my room while I try to finish lesson plans, in the computer lab typing book reviews for class etc. etc, you get my drift. I've just been impossibly busy! School is slowly but surely kicking my butt and I'm trying to find a way to balance it all plus have time for my service sorority, sleeping, eating, a social life... Last month things just fell through the cracks lol No Pun Intended. But before things got super crazy my two besties and I went to D.C for a little Labor Day girls trip. It was the right move and an awesome journey. I will tell you one thing, traveling with friends is very different from traveling with family, in every good way possible haha. Just to make this post easier to read I'm going to list below some places you should definitely check out and a few travel tips :) Have fun on your next adventure! Travel Tips! (Don't Play Yourself) 1. Get a metro card Everything was really smooth sailing the entire trip. We only used Uber 3 times and because of that we saved a TON of money by buying metro-cards. The metro is faster and easier than waiting for an Uber, navigating through D.C traffic, and paying heaps of money for every little ride. And please forget about Taxis! They are not worth the hole in your wallet! 2. Get a free map from your hotel My friends and I traveled back to the stone ages by carrying around our big maps all over D.C. Let me tell you if we didn't have those maps i don't know how many times we would have gotten lost! Plus the map gave us awesome coupons for Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum ($22 down to $10!!!) Don't be embarrassed, use the dang map! 3. Plan ahead... but not too much! We had a pretty good list of activities already planned and we got to almost everything. The thing that I love about traveling with friends is that it's just so chill. With my family everyone wants to go everywhere and see everything that there's never a moment to just sit down and relax for a few hours. Love them to death, but last December on my family reunion Bahamas cruise I had to wake up everyday before 9 AM. If I didn't then someone would come knocking on my door yelling about missing breakfast or missing the next stop and "Are you sick? Why aren't you up yet?"...at 7 AM on vacation. My friends were sleeping longer than me on most days so I was happy about that. When you structure your vacation too much you miss all the little hole in the wall spots around you. We didn't plan any restaurants to eat at but the food we ate all trip was amazing. Most of the places were on the same block as our hotel or in walking distance. Take a breath and just RELAXXXX! 4. Book a hotel next to a metro station or in walking distance of the city I can't stress this enough, the metro station saved our wallets. And walking saved our waistbands. If you want to be in the city try to stay in it or near the outskirts at least. 5. Try new things/Be spontaneous/Let things go I'm a foodie (duh) so I'm always game to try new plates but I also learned to let loose and let things happen as they come. If you don't get to everything on your list, it's okay. If you get sick (or hungover-lol) and have to stay inside for a day, it's sad but okay. If you break a heel while your sightseeing you will survive, trust me. The whole point of a vacation is to live outside of your normal routine. Back home you would freak out about those things but away in another city you are a clam shell! Be a clam shell! Or a turtle. Those are cool too. You get what I mean though, don't sweat the small stuff, it's not worth it. Places to Definitely Visit in Washington. D.C 1. The National Mall and Memorial Parks *** All of the monuments are amazing but make sure you check out the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial! That's my favorite! 2. Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum *** Every single American president is in there plus a few other awesome civil rights leaders and celebrities. I was pleasantly surprised to see Malcolm X and Fredrick Douglas there. Plus there's a whole professional photography section to take pictures with President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama equipped with a speech podium and the Oval Office desk! Nice! 3. Capital Hill *** We saw Capital Hill at night and in the day and both times were beautiful. I only wish we got to tour inside! If you can swing by the Supreme Court. If they are in session you can walk right in! 4. The White House *** The reason why we went to D.C. was to tour the White House before President Obama left office but unfortunately there were too many requests for Labor Day weekend :( We definitely had to pull a #5 (see list above) to enjoy the rest of our trip. However, the pictures we got at the gate were spectacular. Who knew the White House gate lighting would be so perfect for selfies? 5. Ustreet *** If you like to go out at night and have fun you must visit Ustreet! It's a strip of vape lounges, bars, restaurants, and dance clubs. Get turnt and think about your mistakes the next day lol You're on vacation! (Also use "I'm on vacation" as an excuse to do spontaneous things ;)) 6. ChinaTown ***It's only a few blocks but I think going here is worth the short ride. China Town is where I got to buy some dope street art and see all the little stalls and booths selling clothes, jewelry, and mix-tapes haha. There's also a lot of great restaurants here too. 7. National Museum of African-American History and Culture ***This wasn't open over Labor Day weekend yet but I wish it was. Next time I'm in D.C I'll be sure to check this out. I heard it is a wonderful place with a lot to discover. Stay Golden and Travel Hard, Tyra P.S. Check out my itravel tab for more pictures and food adventures :) When you think college student what's the first thing that comes to your mind?
Is it a sleep deprived individual with a shitty car, two pencils stuck in their hair, and a cup of coffee permanently stuck to their hands? Ehhh maybe that's a bit too dramatic but you get my jist. I know when I think of university students I think of a lot of hangry (hungry + angry) people. Angry at their grades maybe but also the fact that they don't have food in the fridge (or any money to buy it). And I mean good, healthy meals, not the jumbo bag of Lay's BBQ chips and the stale powdered donut holes jammed into the back of the cupboard. Fortunately for me there hasn't ever been a situation where I went to bed hungry. Maybe dinner was bread and butter but I did go to sleep with something warm in my belly. Either way I HATE spending money on food. Food is fun and delicious but actually buying all the fruits and vegetables I eat can be a huge pain sometimes. But I'll let you in on some secrets that helped me out when I had an empty fridge and $5 to my name. 1. Make food a priority You might want to skip out on that Forever 21 sale or the Victoria Secret "Buy 1 Bra Get One Free" giveaway this month chica. Go to Kroger and rack up on celery sticks and sweet potatoes instead. In order to eat well you HAVE to know how to budget your pocketbook and it takes a lot of self-control to do this. Maybe you aren't a crazy shopaholic but you do like your Starbucks Cappuccinos every Tuesday and Thursday before class, or you must have your Sunday afternoon pedicures, or you just need to have a Netflix, Hula, Amazon Prime, Xfinity and Showtime account in order to survive. No honey, you need to prioritize! Look at what you spend your money on each month and if its frivolous and unnecessary spending you need to let it go. How will you know if its unnecessary? Well if it was taken away right now would you or someone you know die? Yeahhhh thought so. 2. Shop in Cheaper Supermarkets Publix is not the place you go to do a grocery haul. Neither is Fresh Market, Whole Foods, or Trader Joes. The prices in those stores make me whither in physical pain sometimes and when I see people with carts full of food I mentally calculate their totals and cringe even more. I've gone to all of these stores and out of all of them I love Fresh Market the most but will I ever buy all my groceries from there? HELL NO! I go in for my organic broccoli (that I get so occasionally), my mixed nuts, and maybe some zucchini bread or Belgium waffles and I'm out of there. Haha. My places of food worship are Kroger, Walmart, Aldi, and Sprouts (Sprouts is still on the expensive side but I like to get a few choice items from here). I will forever be in love with Kroger's natural food section. It's really a vegetarians dream. To be able to find those things in a major supermarket chain is beyond happiness. Kroger also has very fresh vegetables. The presentation with all of the floodlights really is a marketing tool but I completely buy into it. The fruits look so juicy and shiny that I'm compelled to put them in my cart. A full grocery haul from Kroger will run upwards of $75 and if I plan carefully the food will last me 2 1/2-3 weeks with a few items left over even after that time. Walmart has made a significant transformation in the last few months. The one by my apartment just got a nice upgrade to their vegetable and fruit section so I appreciate their efforts. Walmart also has a small vegetarian freezer section. It's only 1 section in the long line of the aisle but I'm sure to find what I'm looking for. (I'll share my favorite veggie meats below!) A full grocery haul from Walmart will run upwards of $55-60 and will last me the same amount of time as Kroger food. Aldi is my first love. When my mom took me here back in elementary school for the first time I couldn't believe the prices. You won't find everything you need and there is no vegetarian/vegan section but the fruits and vegetables are cheap and last a long time. Not to mention their olive oil, wines, and snacks (nuts, crackers, granola bars) are very affordable! A semi-full grocery haul from here (excluding my veggie meats, organic eggs, and almond milk) would be about $45-50. It will last 2 1/2-3 weeks as well. Sprouts is the place I go when I don't have enough money for Fresh Market LOL. It's like the little sister of high-end organic grocery stores; with Whole Foods being big sis and reigning food snob, Fresh Market the copying, overcompensating middle sister, and Sprouts toting behind them both just trying to keep up and make everyone happy. Trader Joe's is the weird uncle in the Hawaiian shirt who always pinches your cheeks at family functions and smells like wheat grass shots. At Sprouts I usually get a few veggies (purple cauliflower-just tried it last week and I have found Nirvana), fresh chives (much better than the Walmart selection), and usually coconut oil and healthy chips. My cart from here has a quarter of the things I need but may come up to $25-35. It's definitely a splurge and I don't do it often. It lasts about 2-3 weeks. 3. Understand that you will not buy EVERY single thing on your grocery list at one time It's okay to go home without the carrots and the quinoa the important thing is that you hit the super healthy stuff and 1 or 2 indulgences that you enjoy eating. For example, I don't buy spinach and kale and collard greens at the same time. They are all big leafy vegetables (high in protein by the way!). On my budget there is just no room for "duplicates" (basically food that almost tastes the same and does the same thing in the body). I chose 1 and keep it moving. My indulgence is usually a piece of chocolate but sometimes I buy a box of really nice crackers, pomegranate juice, or coconut shavings. Recently I've been obsessed with Yoplait Whips. It's in the yogurt aisle and it's basically a healthier whipped cream-the consistency is a little heavier though. It tastes amazing (especially the coconut flavor). In the breakfast section of this blog you can see it featured in the french toast recipe :) 4. Food Shop Weekly It might sound like I'm contradicting myself because with this method you are going to the grocery store more but let me explain. Splurging on big hauls of food is a waste of time and money. I used to do that (partially because I didn't have a car and I wanted to get my food for the month in one swoop) but I ended up throwing a lot of the food in the garbage. Fresh fruits and vegetables spoil very quickly, and even faster when you buy them ripe. If you shop weekly you will actually be saving money because you will throw less food in the trash and spend more time eating it! As you keep going with this method you will even figure out what foods you eat faster than others and plan accordingly. When I was big haul shopping I couldn't really tell what I had eaten a lot of and what had kind of just stayed in my fridge. But now I know how fast I eat things and the amount I need. For example I know a purple onion will last me for an entire month, roma tomatoes get eaten like warm pancakes every single day, and berries get about 2 weeks of shelf life. Get to know yourself food-wise by doing this method. Your wallet will thank you! 5. Shop in Numbers I know you all have seen the food pyramid before. It starts off at the bottom with breads/grains and then the higher up the pyramid goes the other food groups come into play (Fruits, Vegetables, Dairy, Meats Oils/sweets). What I like to do to make sure I'm getting all I need in each food group is shop in numbers. For example I'll make sure I have at least Grains 1 loaf of bread and 1 pack of pasta Fruits 3 different fruits Vegetables 4-5 different vegetables Dairy 1 box of Almond Milk 4-5 Yogurts (I'm cutting back on cheese so I usually don't buy it) Meats 1-2 meat substitutes like Tofu and Black Bean Burgers & 1 pack of eggs. Oils/ Sweets Then I'll buy some extra virgin olive oil (which I buy about once every 2 months) & A piece of dark chocolate for the cravings. Do you see what I did? I hit everything on the food pyramid and didn't break my bank account. Shop in numbers if you're unsure about what to buy and how to spend in your budget. If you blindly start putting stuff in your cart you'll see that you are unbalanced. You'll have a bag of apples, 2 bananas, one red pepper and a head of broccoli, 4 packs of chicken legs, and a hunk of cheese. Don't get confused, get smart. That's it folks! I might add 1 or 2 more tips as time goes on but this is really all I do to ensure that I'm not overspending but I still get what I need in my kitchen. If you have any money saving tips please comment and let me know! I could use them too :) Stay Golden, Tyra P.S. These are my favorite meat alternatives right now. I never buy them all at one time because they can be pricey (about $3.99+) so I buy 2-3 at a time and then invest in beans, quinoa, and leafy green vegetables (wonderful with protein as well). Enjoy! Currently I am having a debate with myself as I write this blog post and what's happening is I want to give into my cravings and eat everything in the candy aisle at Walmart, then head over to Dunkin Donuts and order a dozen of those sugary delights and devour that on my way to Cook- Out to order two large Cajun fries with "extra honey mustard please". Can you guess what's happening to me?
Ohhhhh yes friends. I have those Pre-period, PMS beast level, God- given and sanctified munchies. Raise your hand if you thought I was pregnant. Ha! Okay so ever since I turned 21 I feel like each month when the fiery pits of Hades take shelter in my ovaries I'm actually really giving birth and I should be on my way to the hospital. Not only are the cramps extremely worse but the symptoms before and after my period comes have increased on their scale of ridiculous as well. My boobs burn so much sometimes I think I lit myself on fire by accident and they also feel heavy like I have a mountain of rocks hanging from the front of my chest. My mood swings are so bad I think they should win emotional instability awards and my cravings are out of control. Now, there is no middle ground, no road map to tell me what I can do to help the week go by as quickly and cleanly as possible. My heating pads are useless and my Advil sits on my dressing table and mocks me as I hold my head in agony from the splitting headaches. So as ladies what should we do? Well because a lot of this is hormonal there's actually not much we can do but grin and bear it. However when those cravings hit I got you covered. The most important thing to do when you get the munchies is to have healthy snacks in the house. I mean EVERYTHING! Healthy chips, healthy chocolate, healthy gummy bears, healthy ice cream (or should I say frozen yogurt), and healthy alcohol (or as close to healthy as you can get). Because the rule is, "If you keep good food in your fridge you will eat good food." You might have read my last few sentences with an eye- roll and a scoff. You might have told your friend sitting next to you "Yeah she doesn't get it. She's all super healthy now so she's not in the same pool as the rest of us." (Yup I've had that said to me before.) I must tell you that YES I DO GET IT! For the simple fact that one, I am a women who has a baby factory currently warning her to get a baby inside of her belly pronto or the pain will just get worse and worse each month; and two, I'm a human being. Healthy now or not I still get excited when I see the waiter walking towards the table with my food. Since I'm currently trying to lose 30 pounds I can't afford a crazy binge week like I use to do. Even if I think I'm completely justified in eating 12 Kit Kat bars. The cravings are madness and I understand that but somewhere inside of you is a drive stronger than those munchies. Because when you think about it that blissful moment when you eat that donut is usually followed by horrible thoughts. "UGH why did I just eat that!" "It wasn't even worth it!" "I'll be fat forever..." "What's the point I'll just stay unhappy." Compared to the thoughts you have when you eat a healthier option "I'm so proud of myself!" "I can't believe I beat the craving!" "Wow I'm stronger than I think." You have to get into the mindset and say "I still want the candy but I'm gonna have this apple instead and I'm okay with that." When you get there, I'm telling you, nothing can stop your progress. I've listed some healthy snack alternatives below. I hope something on the list works for you. Don't be afraid to comment and let other ladies know what your go- to snacks are too :) May the blessings of God be upon you as your ovaries and Fallopian tubes continue to rebel against you. You'll need it. Stay Golden, Tyra Healthy Snacks for the Caveman in All of Us 1. Mini Carrots (with peanut, cashew, or almond butter) 2. Celery Sticks (with peanut, cashew, or almond butter) 3. Raisins 4. Trail Mix (just for this week you can get the one's with the M&M's) 5. Greek Yogurt w/ granola 6. Tomatoes w/ salt (Just a little salt! We're already bloated. We don't want a national human hot air balloon crisis on our hands) 7. Cinnamon Toast (bread, brown sugar& cinnamon mix, butter -smart balance) 8. Skinny Girl Wines 9. Fruit Salad (choose your favorite fruits. And always include blueberries- they are low in fat) 10. Dark Chocolate (you may not want to but it's healthier so suck it up) 11. Air- popped Popcorn (or regular bagged popcorn, no butter and no salt) 12. Granola Bar (Be careful and read the labels. Some of these have a lot of hidden sugars. In my experience you can't go wrong with Kashi or Natural Valley brands) 13. Frozen Yogurt 14. Honey Nut Cheerios (1 cup) 15. Salt- Free Pretzels (1 cup) I love To-Do Lists! For me it's really relaxing to sit down and write everything I need to get done and begin crossing things off. Anyone who knows me well understands that I have a terrible memory. I've considered going to the doctor that's how bad it seems sometimes (I figured out that I probably had a B-12 deficiency but I'll discuss that later in another post.) Lists help me to stay sane and remember all I have to do for myself and others. The funny thing is I had all of these lists so I can get things done before-hand and I still couldn't master the art of meal- prep! I used to look at those fancy pictures on Pinterest of healthy people's meal preps for 1-2 weeks and I would get completely overwhelmed. "I can't do that! That would take hours! I don't even have all that food at one time" I would say to myself. All terrible excuses by the way! So I was always really adamant about not ever being a meal- prep kind of girl but then I got a summer job and took summer classes and I was finding myself running around in the morning trying to make breakfast and lunch- sometimes with no success. I would have to visit the vending machine at work for chips and chocolate for lunch and as soon as I saw a cycle forming I immediately got my act together. When it comes to my weight loss progress I don't like to play games because I know I worked really hard to get where I am today. I started making my breakfast and lunch at the same time the night before for the next day and let me tell ya'll I began to have all the time in the world! I started sleeping in a little bit more, I had more energy at work, and I was just plain happier because I was eating healthy again and not rushing around in the morning before work. Call me dramatic but MEAL PREP SAVED MY LIFE! It gave me one of the most important things, time. And it got me back on track when I started slowing falling off the healthy wagon. For those of you going back to school it's also imperative that you meal prep before you get on campus. I cannot tell you how many times I found myself in front of a vending machine or standing in a long line for a burrito because I had classes all day and didn't take the time to make lunch the night before. You will save TONS of money not eating campus food. My school's eating areas can get expensive so buying the ingredients from the store and making food myself saves me at least $20 a week! Go ahead and buy a nice lunchbox, a refillable water bottle, and some small, medium, and large containers. That's what I lacked when I started MP. There are nice ones at Burlington Coat Factory for a reasonable price or Walmart of course. So do your body and wallet a favor by planning your meals out. You will definitely see the benefits in the long run. Stay Golden! -Tyra Here are a few ideas to get you started! Breakfast Oatmeal Smoothie Bowl Egg Muffins Yogurt Parfait (but don't put the granola in until your'e ready to eat it) Fruit Salads Chia Seed Pudding (recipe coming soon!) Quinoa w/ fruit Cereal Loaded Toast (toast with veggies or fruit on top) Omelet Pancakes/ Waffles (Wheat flour only) Boiled Egg Poached Egg Banana Pancakes (2 eggs, 1 banana- that's it!, add more of each if you want more pancakes) Lunch Sweet Potato Fries Mason Jar and DIY Salads (light dressing only- Balsamic is the best) Fruit Salads Veggie Burger Stir- Fry Quinoa w/ Veggies Sandwiches Soup Rice Bowl w/ Veggies Veggie Burrito (w/ Tortilla, Naan, or Pita Bread) Snack Granola Bars Fruit Salad Popcorn (no butter, light salt) Trail mix Carrot Sticks Celery Sticks Cheese Cubes (about 4-7) Whole Wheat Crackers Mini Tomato Sliced Cucumber Raisins Other dried fruits (watch out for the sugar intake!) Dinner Pasta (No heavy sauces like Alfredo!) Rice or Quinoa/ Beans/ Vegetables Sandwich Salad Soup Veggie Kabobs Sweet Potato w/ Vegetables Veggie Burger Sweet Potato Fries --Not a photo of me Yes, I have gotten this question before and let me tell you it hurts like a ton of bricks! Actually more like second day menstrual cramps, a dictionary being thrown at your face, and a car running over your foot all in one. But at least the comment came from my mom. She wasn't asking me that because I had a boyfriend or anything but because my stomach was literally the size of a pregnant woman and I was NOT with child ya'll! I can laugh about it now but in that moment I saw nothing humorous. Before "Vegetarian Tyra" came into full effect, I ate like a trashcan (think Oscar the puppet from Sesame Street) and I loved it just like he did. Eating all of those terrible foods made me happy so I didn't feel like I needed to change for a very long time. I would have honey buns, chips, and skittles for dinner my freshman year of college and I never EVER exercised. I hated to run because I thought I looked like a whale and I was too slow. When I did badly on an exam or assignment I would immediately head to the vending machine in the building and buy a bag of cookies and gummy bears. I was a serious emotional eater, and that habit unfortunately started in high school. Food Baby Blues I gained 40 pounds in about a year and a half because of my emotional eating. I had to stop wearing a lot of my favorite clothes and when I went shopping for new ones I had to go to the "big girl" section. I remember the day when I went to Ross to try on jeans and I brought a handful of jeans in my old size to the fitting room. Not a single one of those pants fit. And it wasn't like 'oh they kind of fit they are just a bit tight' or 'I can't button them all the way', it was a HARSH sizing difference. The pants would stop right above my knee and no matter how hard I pulled they would not budge. I immediately started crying in that tiny fitting room and I made my mom and I leave without a proper explanation. I can't really pin point the day when I decided I needed to change my eating habits I just looked in the mirror and finally figured out that I was tired of feeling bad about myself. At that point I barely looked in mirrors at all and when I did I would rag on myself the entire time. Nothing seemed right to me; my face my too pudgy, I had a double chin, my nose was too wide, I had tiger strip stretch marks all over my mid-section, a huge muffin top, saddle-bag thighs, and no butt! My self- confidence was absolutely non-existent and when I started having trouble getting up in the morning because I didn't want to face the day I knew I had to get help fast! "I got so much backlash when I first decided to stop eating meat. That was almost two years ago (August 2014). My family didn't understand and some of my friends were completely skeptical about the whole thing. I was really shocked when I didn't receive the support I thought I would get. I mean," I'm saving animals!!!" I wanted to scream at everyone. "I'm not putting disgusting processed meat in my body anymore, YAY ME!" I yearned for applause and praise for changing my lifestyle and unhealthy eating habits. But everyone didn't feel as strongly as I did about me "saving the planet". My dad was my most adamant adversary. He grew up in Haiti so his life growing up was difficult as he struggled to triumph and survive through the poverty that tried to break him down. He's told me stories about walking 10 miles by himself at 6-9 years old just to visit his grandfather (who lived in the mountains by the way). As a young boy he did as he was told and ate what was put on the plate in front of him. He didn't have a choice to refuse the beef, or the chicken because of the chemicals injected into them. He told me I was spoiled and privileged for being able to be a vegetarian. Sadly, I couldn't help but agree with him. Some people don't have the opportunity to give up meat because that's all they have to eat or the meat is paired with something small like a piece of stale bread. So I thank God daily that I was able to make this huge lifestyle change which has affected me in such a positive way. My sister, bless her heart, was my biggest supporter. She had been a vegetarian for 6 years by then so she was cheering me on during the entire process. Looking back I know I had such a big head! I didn't want to be one of those vegetarians that made people feel bad for eating meat but I definitely talked about the meat packing industry, the evils of Monsanto, corrupted seed farming practices, the whole-milk controversy, and animal cruelty more than I had before. I'm positive some of my friends were fed up with me making sly comments about their turkey sandwiches and BBQ buffalo wings. After realizing what I was doing I quickly stopped professing my love for tofu and all things green because 1. I didn't want to lose my friends and 2. That's annoying and throwing statistics and facts at people wouldn't make them want to explore the vegetarian or vegan life. #V-UNIT So, I made it a point to stop sharing and you know what? I got WAY more questions when I wasn't throwing my vegetarianism in peoples faces. I would walk into the kitchen and cook an amazing meal with 6 ingredients and my roommates would ask me how I did it. I would post a picture on my Snapchat of my grocery cart and I would get 10 messages with questions asking what that was, where I was shopping, and how much money I spent. Being a vegetarian is one of the greatest, most rewarding decisions I've made and I wouldn't change it for the world. Speaking of grocery carts. This was mine back in 2014. There's a lot wrong with the cart. I was half healthy/half unhealthy but you couldn't tell me I wasn't trying! You should test yourself to see exactly what you think I needed to put back on the shelves. I'll help you out. 1. The two packs of WHITE FLOUR bagels -so unhealthy. Bagels lack fiber, minerals, and nutrients that your body needs to stay strong and healthy. They are full of bad carbohydrates because of the lack of fiber so when digested they convert to sugar immediately and not energy. Skip the bagels and grab some whole wheat bread or whole wheat English muffins instead. 2. The Kraft Macaroni and Cheese boxes. I really do have the blues when I see those in this cart. Two words- powdered cheese. All the artificial dyes and additives aren't helping either. Make your own Mac and Cheese for a change and keep it healthy. All you need is macaroni shells, almond milk, and shredded medium cheddar cheese. 3. Pasta Sides- those are basically like the Kraft Mac and Cheese. Powdered anything should be avoided at all costs- especially powdered cheese. I also don't recommend eating fettuccine Alfredo too often. Its full of fat and carbs which will cause you to gain weight at an alarming rate. (You couldn't tell that to my high school self, this was my favorite food!) 4. What the heck are those tuna packets doing in there? Well this was taken a few months before I became a veg-head and I was addicted to tuna sandwiches. As a college student who spends all her time in the library or rushing to classes, tuna sandwiches were quick and easy lunch and dinner options. Nowadays I actually make time for my meals so I don't have to resort to packaged foods. As a vegetarian fish is obviously a no-no but if you are not a member of V-UNIT yet white albacore tuna is high in mercury so you should limit your exposure to that kind (only once a week!). Chunk light tuna is lower in mercury and can be consumed a few more times a week (3-4). The best option is salmon which has relatively no mercury and a lot more Omega- 3 fatty acids which have a plethora of benefits for our bodies including improving cardiovascular health. Stay Golden! -Tyra My dad still worries about my protein intake but I know he supports me and just wants me to be healthy :) Thanks Dad! |
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January 2017
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