♡ March Madness Day 5: My Detox Journey ♡

Lately, I've been feeling a bit... groggy. I think that's the word. My hair has been falling more than Jennifer Lawrence at the Oscars, my skin has been so dull, I've been so bloated and that's when I realized. For the past couple months I've been basically living off of junk food. I was watching TV the other day and I heard that these symptoms could all be cured by one thing, a food detox.

What is a food detox?
A food detox is basically cleansing your body of all the toxins you inhale everyday, whether it's from your food, environment or anything else. It's like pressing a 'reset' button on your body.

Who should try a detox diet?
I'm not a doctor so I can't help you there but I took this quiz and I ranked pretty high and figured that a detox was worth a try.

How do I do this?

Pre-detox
Basically, you have to prepare your body for a detox because certain foods can interfere with the liver's ability to detox therefore not allowing you to see full results of your detox. -Certain foods to avoid include: dairy, wheat, junk food, canned foods, processed foods, sugar, alcohol, trans fat, artificial sweeteners, caffeine. 
-Also make sure to eat more fruits and vegetables, try to buy from your local farmer's market to make sure that it's fresh!
-Drink plenty of water, it keeps your body hydrated!

Detox
There is a list of foods that you should include in your detox:

"Beverages

"milks" made from allowed foods, such as rice milk, almond milk, hemp milk

coconut milk - except canned coconut milk

water

herbal teas

green tea

lemon water

unsweetened juice made from allowed fruits and vegetables

mineral or seltzer water - in limited amounts

Sweetners

• brown rice syrup

• erythritol

• stevia

• real maple syrup

• raw honey

• black strap molasses

Condiments

• apple cider vinegar

• Bragg's Liquid Aminos

• miso - small amounts

• black olives

• lemons and limes

• fresh and dried herbs and spices

• cacao powder and cacao nibs

• carob powder

• sea salt

• mustard

• wheat-free tamari - in limited amounts

Animal Protein

• organic turkey

• organic chicken, preferably pastured

• wild, cold-water fish, such as Alaskan salmon

• lamb

• wild game, such as venison, buffalo, ostrich

Daily Detox Do's 

• Drink a minimum of 8 glasses of water per day

• Take the time to chew food well."  -about.com 

Now here's some foods to avoid during your detox:

"Animal Products

• beef

• pork

• veal

• sausages and hot dogs

• deli meats and cold cuts

• shellfish

Condiments

• ketchup

• relish

• soy sauce

• teriyaki sauce

• non-dairy creamers

• barbeque or steak sauce

• salad dressings not made with allowed ingredients

• mayonnaise

• spreads not made with the allowed ingredients

• similar condiments

Other Foods to Avoid

• yeast

• alcohol

• food additives and preservatives

• high-fat foods

• corn

• shortening

• margarine

• canned coconut milk" -about.com

The doctors over at about.com also made a sample menu for a detox diet, you can check it out by clicking this link.

Another fun thing to try out during a detox is detox water now I'm sure you've seen this. Here's a link to Bembu, where they show you 8 recipes! Cassey over at Blogilates also made her own recipe! You can also create your own recipes if you want!

Here's a video to guide you if you're a beginner:

Anyways, I'll make a post later this month telling you about my results of this detox. Happy March Madness!

♡ Beach Body ♡

Hi guys,

I thought I'd make a post helping you guys achieve your bikini body for this summer! This nutrition plan has worked for me and I've lost 20 pounds on it! I just changed a couple things up. Throughout this post I'm going to be sharing with you guys a meal plan, an exercise plan and a grocery list for you guys! I'm going to be following this plan as well and I'll tell you guys about my results in a few months... So yeah, let's get started!

Nutrition Plan

Breakfast 6:30 AM: During breakfast I'll usually eat a banana along with a cup of Fiber One Caramel Delight with Silk soy milk. But during this period of time, I'm going to be eating an orange with a cup of Special K Vanilla Almond cereal with some Silk soy milk. If you're not a big fan of soy milk, then try out almond milk, coconut milk, flavored soy milk or just stick to skim milk! Try to experiment and find out what you like best. At first I hated soy milk but now I don't mind it so much.

Snack 9:00 AM: One or two hours after breakfast I usually have a snack because I only have lunch at noon or later. It's important to eat various meals in smaller portions throughout the day. You can stick to a cereal bar during this snack, or some grapes. 

Lunch 12:00 PM: During lunch I'll usually have a bowl of salad (lettuce, spinach and celery) and afterwards I'll have grilled chicken, brown rice, beans, broccoli and cauliflower. Chew slowly because it gives your stomach time to know if it's full or not. Rushing will not help you. 

Snack 3:00 PM: I'll usually have a peanut butter sandwich with whole grain bread. But you can stick to some fruit, or celery with some ranch. Anything that's healthy! Sometimes I go for a fruit smoothie, I'll mix some blueberries with soy milk and honey, blend it all in and you're done!

Snack 5:00 PM: This is usually a very light snack. I usually eat an apple with peanut butter or something along those lines.

Dinner 7:00 PM: For dinner I'll have some lettuce and spinach mixed with pineapple and grilled chicken!

Remember to drink lots of water throughout the day and to drink green tea as well! To find out how much water you should be drinking check out the chart bellow by fullspike.com.

Exercise Plan

If you're anything like me then you probably don't have too much time to exercise. So try to exercise for 30 minutes a day, 3 times a week! Just pick your favorite way to workout, whether it's walking your dog, dancing, going to zumba or whatever. YouTube has some great workout videos as well! Like Karena and Katrina's Bikini Series! or Cassey from Blogilates!. I love their videos!

Grocery List:

This is what I would get if I ran out of everything at once!

-Fruits:

Apples

Pineapple

Bananas

Kiwis

Blueberries

Raspberries

Strawberries

Peaches

Nectarines

Frozen fruits (for smoothies!)

Lime

Lemon

-Veggies:

Lettuce

Spinach

Celery

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Corn

Peas

Black beans

-Protein:

Eggs

Chicken breast

Raw almonds

Salmon

Beef jerky

Tofu

-Dairy:

Soy milk

Skim milk

-Grains: 

Whole wheat bread

Brown rice

Whole wheat pasta

Oats

Whole grain wraps

-Supplements:

Omega 3

Biotin

Vitamin D

-Drinks:

Special K Protein Shake (Chocolate ones). These are perfect if you don't eat meat!

Bottled water

Green tea

Peach tea (Cause I'm addicted)

-Get enough sleep!

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Be positive and remember, you can do this! I believe in you!

Remember to check out my fitness blog! You can send me questions and I'll try my best to answer them!

♡ Being Healthy ♡

Hey guys, 

I wanted to make a post on being healthier to help some of you who want to be healthy but don't know where to start. I'll start off by talking about my weight loss journey. So when I was in 5th grade I weighed 175 pounds (I know it's a lot for such a young age) and by the time I was in 8th grade I was already on the verge of hitting 190 pounds. I wasn't very tall I was 5'3 during that time. You'd think I was very insecure and such but actually, I was super confident when I was in 7th and 8th grade years. I thought my body was perfectly fit, but then halfway through my freshman year I realized I couldn't go on like that. My diet basically consisted of sandwiches, chocolate milk, cheeseburgers, bread, soda, and you get the hang of it. I made the decision to go to a nutritionist and I changed my eating habits. In the month of eating right and working out I lost 10 pounds! Right now I'm closer than ever to my goal weight and I'm super proud! So here's how you can turn your life around with an easy healthy-eating guide.

Avoid:
-Processed Foods. Processed foods are just not good for you. They're super high in cholesterol and contain so much sodium. If you're ever in between buying an apple or those 130 calories snack things, get the apple! An apple might not sound too good compared to your Cheetos but your bathing suit will sound amazing in a month or so if you just stick to it. Besides there's so much hidden nutrition facts that they don't tell you about those 'low calorie' packaged snacks, next time you see it go look at the sodium on that. When you're reading nutrition labels, look at the ingredients. The first ingredient is what is in that food the most. I know this picture is hard to read but it's the best I have.

http://doitthehealthyway.tumblr.com/

-Soda. I know what you're thinking, 'I love Coke' 'But Mountain Dew is so delicious', and I agree. But the unfortunate part is, soda has no actual benefit for us. It's loaded in sugar and causes stretch marks. Or as the 'Skinny Bitch' book by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin say 'Soda is liquid Satan. It is the devil. It is garbage. There is nothing in soda that should be put in your body'. 

http://nervouscrashh.tumblr.com/

-Foods with mascots. Have you ever noticed that foods with mascots are usually pretty unhealthy? Chester Cheeto, Ronald McDonald, Snap! Crackle! Pop!, Trix Rabbit, Tony the Tiger and so many more. 
-Junk food/fast food. This one is pretty obvious. I'll be 100% honest, if you ask me if I want to have McDonalds with you for lunch, I'm going to say yes. It tastes amazing yes, and I know it's hard but we have to avoid it :/

Include:
-Protein. Protein is great for getting that perfect toned stomach. Foods that are rich in protein: meat, almonds, broccoli, salmon, tofu, eggs and much more!
-Water! Water is so important, to keep your body hydrated make sure to drink 2 liters of water a day! To burn calories you need to have an adequate amount of water in your body so remember that!

-Vegetables and fruits. Remember how your mom always said 'eat your vegetables'? Well, she was right. They're amazing for you and can prevent many diseases. Click here for a chart with vegetables and their benefits. Here's a fruit chart!

-H2O! Water is so important that I put it on here twice :) Green tea is also important! Unsweetened preferably. 

Working out:
-Remember you can work out 1 hour a day and eat junk food all day and you will most likely not lose weight. It's like the phrase 'Abs are made in the kitchen'. Don't take me wrong working out is also important. If you don't have a gym membership try Insanity, Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred, Blogilates, and many more.
-Try to do at least 30 minutes of cardio 3 times a week!

My tips/suggestions for you!:
-Try to stay away from lactose. Recent studies show that milk actually has no benefits for us because it's made just for calves. Also if you're like me and you have allergies, milk does make that worse. So if you can stay away from it. There are so many alternatives to milk. Like soy milk. coconut milk, almond milk, dairy free ice cream and so many more. Just find your favorites! You can read this article to get informed! Click here.
-Eat 6 small meals a day rather than 3 big ones. Small meals throughout the day are the key to boosting your metabolism.
-Moderation is key.

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-Take a multi vitamin. While you're on a new eating routine you will lose a few essential vitamins so make sure to replenish that.
-Like I've said before. Keep yourself hydrated!
-Be positive. I can not stress this enough. Change doesn't happen overnight and it won't be easy but if you keep to it I promise you that you will see results. Also remember that your body doesn't have to look like a Victoria Secret's model to be beautiful. Don't give up! You can do this.

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-Don't count calories. I was guilty of this until a while back. A banana has 120 calories and 3 cheerios have 60 calories. but which one is obviously healthier? The banana, of course! Nutrition > Calories.
-Set goals and keep to it.

Just remember that it's your body and don't let anyone shame you into losing weight. And, if you do decide to lose weight do it the healthy way! I am not a nutritionist or anything like it but if you ever have questions or need motivation, I suggest you go to my fitblr! You can click there to keep up with my weight loss journey and motivate yourself. I'll also answer any questions you have about my journey or anything to do with health to the best of my abilities! Good luck! :)