Sugar Sugar Sugar

Question for you.  Do you know how much the daily recommend sugar per grams is?  I actually had no clue till a few weeks ago.  My husband is an avid listener to Joe Rogan's podcast.  And he frequently has guest on that are involved in health and fitness.  So Dane mentioned it to me a while back but it just didn't stick in my head.  Then the other day I started thinking..hmmm... What did Dane say the sugar allowed per day?  So I asked again and then decided that I would try to follow that guideline.

So for woman it is about 25 grams or 6 teaspoons of added sugar per day.  That may sound like a lot at first.  Six whole teaspoons of extra sugar.  I'm not talking about sugar in the fruits that you eat.  I'm talking about sugar in the processed foods.  Here is a good example of hidden sugar. A can of soda may contain up to 10 teaspoons or 40 grams of sugar. A tablespoon of ketchup has 1 teaspoon of sugar.  Say what?  I mean you probably aren't drinking soda if you are trying to have a healthy lifestyle but still 40 whole grams of sugar in one can.  That is just craziness.

Well, I decided I would try to follow the guidelines without going crazy. It was a little harder then I thought.  Here's what I found out this past week as I tried to watch my sugar intake.  The creamer I use if I drink coffee has 5 grams per serving and this creamer is suppose to be "natural".  My whole fat greek vanilla yogurt had 27 grams per cup.  Ummm WTF?  I will now be switching to the plain whole fat greek yogurt which has 6 grams per cup.  Salad dressings have added sugar, peanut butter has added sugar..... it seems life has added sugar. AHHHH!  Needless to say I haven't had a day where I stayed below 25 grams. (I was using up my yogurt that I had bought.)  But I definitely was having less sugar then normal because I was paying attention and the great thing is I felt better and started to see a little difference in my body.  Little less bloat.. hmm interesting. 

Everything was still going great this week.  Monday was good, Tuesday even better but then today. Uh oh.  A very sweet friend who is also gluten free (she has celiac disease) brought me some goodies.  And I mean a bag full of goodies.  And if you know me then you know my downfall is having things in the house.  Well, in this case in the car.  I proceeded to munch my way through a few bags of cookies on my drive home from the gym. Yes I said gym and the drive from the gym is under 5 minutes.  Oops!  So when I got home I added up the extra sugar I had just consumed and we were will over 35 grams.  Uhhhh no good.  But there is no going back so from this point forward no more sugar today and tomorrow we shoot for 25 grams again.  There is no point in beating myself up over a binge.  It happened and now I move forward with the intent to not let it happen again.

But I challenge you, reader, to try this.  Try to see where you hidden sugar lies. If your trying to eat clean there shouldn't be that much of it.  But it will be amazing how it stills creeps into our diets.  Americans are obese because of this.  Don't be a statistic. Fight the trend of obesity with me.

Inactivity leads to MORE INACTIVITY

I can't blame this on myself.  I didn't choose to be inactive for this week.  I was forced to heal and recover from an infection in my hand.  And I do know that while healing a need extra time to rest.  But having said that boy does inactivity lead to much more inactivity.

While recovery I have pretty much been at home these last few days.  I'm not allowed to workout, I'm not allowed to ride my horse, I'm not allowed to go to work.  To some of you this sounds amazing... it gets boring pretty fast.

And here is something I started to notice.  I started sleeping in a little more each day.  I wake up still tired after getting over 9 hours of sleep.  Then I do some playtime on my phone or computer and go watch some tv and take another nap. (again I do understand I needed extra rest to heal).  But this pattern started to emerge.  This pattern of laziness that leads to tiredness.  How does that even happen?  How can doing nothing make you want to do more of nothing?  I'm not quite sure how the chemistry in the brain works or if maybe I'm just the odd man out here but for me it totally did.  And ding that's when it dawned on me that activity leads to more activity.

Just like I'd been forming habits to get up and workout every morning and it got easier the more I did it or at least it was habit enough that I would get up and start moving which would wake me up enough to enjoy my workout.  I have now been forming habits of inactivity, of sleeping in, of watching tv for hours.  AHHH this has got to stop.

The good news is I am healed enough to slowly start doing things again.  Today I am going down to the barn to groom Bella.  Still can't ride her because my hand won't fully make a fist yet but maybe a light ride tomorrow!  I can now take a walk.  The infection is, from what I can tell nearly gone and I think some light exercise may be in order.  Now I will still listen to my body if my hand starts to hurt or I do need to actually lay down for a nap because my body needs it, I will listen.  But enough inactivity.  It is time to be active and to start building up and getting my body back into the groove.

For those of you who have never done a fitness routine and feel like there is noway you can add it into your life.  Let me tell you start small.  Start building.  Get the momentum rolling.  I promise you activity leads to more activity.  You will start to crave doing more.  If you need someone to be there for you.  If you need someone who is going through it too and is trying to get back on track then please reach out to me.  Email at Kellyrose.kcr@gmail.com  I have groups starting every month.  I have a group of women who committed to staying the course and amaze me with their results. Be one of them!

No idea I'd been down and out this long!

This week has just been absolutely weird, crazy, calm, restful, annoying all at the same time.

Weird:  Woke up on Sunday morning with my middle finger of my left hand hurting.  But mild enough for me to workout and ride Bella!

Crazy:  The pain increases greatly by Monday concerning me enough to go to Urgent Care and make sure my finger is okay.

Restful:  Finger is not okay and now I'm forced to take some down time.  Downtime from everything- work, riding Bella, working out.

Annoying:  I hate being forced to take off and not even get to be doing something I enjoy.  I hate cancelling my clients appointments.  I enjoy my job as an esthetician and I enjoy seeing my clients, many of whom have been seeing me for years.

Needless to say forced rest can be a good thing.  It can make you reflect.  I didn't even realize how much a like to do.  How much I like to be on the go.  It wasn't until my friends started making comments about how hard this was going to be for me that I realized that I like being super active.  This is why I fall asleep on the couch by 10 every night.  I really just can't keep my eyes open.

The other thing about this week is the hefty antibiotics I've been put on to combat the infection.  As everyone knows when you take antibiotics there is a good chance you will affect the good bacteria in your digestive system.  This makes me so nervous.  I have tried really hard these last few weeks since vacation to get my system back on track and I think we were there but now...

Oh well, I'm taking a bunch of pro-biotics and trying to eat healthy.  Trying to eat the correct portions since for me this week is totally about what I put into my body since I can't exercise.

A recipe that I saw from a fellow Beachbody Coach and one that is absolutely easy and delicious can be found here!  Enjoy the yumminess!

Here's a little video of my making said yumminess!

https://www.facebook.com/kelly.rose.5203/videos/10207056225675500/

Made up Cookie Dough

1 cup- Vanilla organic yogurt
2 teaspoons- Organic Peanut butter
Handful of cocoa bits or chocolate chips

Mix these 3 things together BOOM you've got this fake but delicious kinda cookie dough.  Throw it in the freezer for a while and it will be a little like cookie dough ice cream.  YAY!!!

Thumbs up for working from home! Entrepreneur!!

So unfortunately for me today I was literally forced to slow down by getting an infection in my hand.  I can't ride Bella.  I can't work out.  I can't do much at all because I need this get better ASAP. On a side note Judy called to say Bella was fantastic today.  Judy called her Bella the "LionHeart"  I like it.  So while I miss my horse I'm very happy to hear that she is doing great!

So normally my Wednesday looks a little like this I go down to the barn and get to ride my Bella girl. Then I have lunch with Judy before we both head off to the gym for our personal training.  Then I sometimes head to Mom's Organic store to buy some food for lunches for the rest of the work week.  Today looked like this.  Sleep in... wake up with finger still very swollen and angry.  Get upset. Call Judy to let her know I wouldn't be able to ride today and ask if she could ride Bella for me so that Bella doesn't become her nasty self.  Text Dona to let her know I have to cancel personal training because my left hand is out of commission.  Complain to myself for the next 30 minutes.  Then decide I can be productive with my beachbody business.  This is the perfect opportunity to get a lot of things done and set some things up for the upcoming events.  So that is what today has pretty much been.  I had my strawberry shakeology for fuel.  I pulled out my laptop computer and I sat my little butt down and got to work!  Not so bad after all.  Though I still would really like to workout but NO today is a rest day for me.

Now on to things coming up.  I am super excited to have a Coaches Sneak Peek set for September 6th.  I love being a Beachbody coach because I love seeing people succeed in their journeys.  Being a part of someones transformation is so fulfilling.  If you are interested in learning more about coach please fill out the form below.  Team Rise & Shine!!

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Failing by learning to Fail Forward

It has recently been brought to my attention that I have been doing myself and you a disservice.  This was very eye opening because when you don't realize you are doing or in my case not doing something that you think you have been doing your quite shocked.

As you know I am a Beachbody Coach.  You may not know what that means because I've only been showing a small part of what being a coach is all about.  I've only been sharing with you the side of me that is pretty easy to share or "show off".  That side of things has been the fitness side of things.  I enjoy working out.  I enjoy sharing that I work out and the results that I get by working out.  I'm sure many of you think that all Beachbody is is working out.  This is my fault, this is my failure.  Let me get this straight there is a whole side of things that is fitness related and I believe that fitness is hugely important and that everyone should be doing some form of exercise to stay fit and healthy and maintain good bone density and to feel good mentally and physically. But that's only one side of the equation.  The other side is what we put into our bodies.  How are bodies react to those things.  Is our diet helping us?  Is our diet promoting a strong healthy body?  And the thing is a have a product that I know does all those things.  I have a product that I've been using for over a year now and it has literally been the healthiest year of my life.  Why in the world am I not sharing this side of things?

Why? Because I'm not as open about this side of my life.  I don't always like people to know that I have major digestion issues.  I don't want people to know that the antibiotics and drugs that I took to help clear up my acne caused a lot of internal problems.  This side isn't pretty.  This side is embarrassing.  But I need to get over that and share my story and share the products that helped me feel better and become a healthier person.

I think it will take time to become more comfortable with sharing but I know that like with anything practice makes perfect... or easier!  So, today I'm just going to say that Shakeology changed my life.  And in the next coming weeks I'll share my story.  I'll share the good and the bad.  I'll share why I think this product is absolutely wonderful.  I'll share more of myself so that you can truly understand what I've been through and how Beachbody has changed me.

Sugar causes massive cravings

I'm not sure about the rest of you but boy do I have an addiction to sugar.  And if the above image doesn't spell it out I'm not sure what will.

I've been back from vacation for a little over a week now and I'm still struggling with my need to eat processed, sugary, unhealthy foods.  If you've been reading my blog then you know I went a little over board and ate some ultra yummy, fattening, sugary foods on vacation.  I tell myself that it will be okay because we are on vacation and I will only do it then.  The problem comes in when I get back home and all I want to eat is bad food.  And I mean I WANT to eat all the time.  Thankfully our house isn't full of bad things because my husband, who does most of our shopping and cooking, has been on a great health kick thanks in part to Joe Rogan's podcast.  But I will rummage and search for things to eat to satisfy this insane craving.

The other huge bad side affect of eating processed, sugary foods is tiredness.  I just don't want to get up in the morning.  And I will say before vacation when I was eating ultra clean and healthy it was no problem getting up at 5:30 to get my workout and run in before the day started.  Now I can't even think through the fogginess in my brain at 7:30.  I literally want to lounge in bed until I'm forced to get up because I have to get ready for work. This has got to stop!

I thought I could handle these Luigi's Italian ice treats, but I can't.  I want to eat one everyday and not just one but two and then I realize I start looking around for more food shortly after I have one.  So, I think I need to go cold turkey! NO more sugar... NO SUGAR.  Say it with me "NO SUGAR".  Okay well today starts trying to not have any extra sugar.  I will eat my fruits but beyond that I'm going to really try to not have anything extra.  I'll update you soon.  Oh and here is my weekly progress.

Fixate to the Rescue

As many of you know my good friend and dressage instructor Judy had a recent medical emergency in the family.  Her husband, Angus had bleeding in his brain and was rushed to the hospital where he stayed in ICU for over a week.  He is home now and recover at a very good rate.  But going through something so traumatic has made Judy want to change some things in their lifestyle.  She wants Angus to be all around more healthy and have a much better diet.  In comes the Fixate cookbook.

Today after I had a fantastic ride on Bella in this lovely 80 degree weather, I went up to the house and we went through my fixate cookbook and picked out recipes that were easy to make and that she thought Angus might enjoy.  We picked out enough to get her started and hopefully to get him eating super clean and healthy.

So in honor of the Whyte Family getting healthier with their diets I'm going to share one of my favorite recipes from this cookbook.

Pumpkin Muffins With Maple Cream Cheese

2oz. cream cheese
1 Tbsp. Pure maple syrup
1 Large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup -canned pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups almond flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 dash sea salt
2 Tbsp raw pumpkin seeds

preheat the over to 350 F.  Prepare 9 cups by lining with muffin tin liners  Combine cream cheese and maple syrup in a small bowl mixing well (set aside) Combine egg and pumpkin in a medium bowl, mix well.  Add almond meal mixture to egg mixture and mix till blended.  Spoon batter into each prepared muffin cup,filling a little less then 1/2 full.  Spoon about 1 heaping tsp. cream cheese mixture into the center of each muffin, then full the rest with remaining batter.  Sprinkle pumpkin seeds evenly.
Bake for 16-18 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Transfer muffins to rack and let them cool.

Eat and enjoy!  That's it.  And I know if I can do them you can do them too because I'm horrible in the kitchen.