3 Cost Effective Ways to Eat Healthy

It all adds up!

1. Shredded Chicken- I make shredded chicken in the crock pot or Instant Pot most weeks. It’s simple: raw chicken breast, salt, pepper and chicken broth, stock or bone broth, cooked on low for 4-6 hours. Shred and divide. Then I use that chicken to top salads or make lettuce wraps. Flavor the chicken differently to erase boredom. I do buffalo chicken, BBQ, and chicken salad. So then you have lunch for the next three days.
2. Breakfast- I never stop at drive thrus for water, coffee or food in the morning-not because I am above it, but because I can’t afford it. Make time to prepare something or have things you can grab. I make omelette bites, or eggs and reheat at work. I sometimes pack plain Greek yogurt and top with frozen blueberries, walnuts, sugar free vanilla syrup and seeds of some kind. It’s all melted together and still cold once I am at work. Oatmeal is another great choice that is quick and affordable. This is a huge money saver!
3. Water Bottle-This doesn’t need an explanation really but here goes. Buying a large jug of water to refill your bottle saves BIG money. If you have a filter pitcher or some clean water coming from the tap it’s even better. Grabbing any beverage from refrigerator at gas station or grocery store will blow your budget if you are pinching pennies like me! Hate water? Add some flavor with lemons, limes or cucumbers. Hate that too? Grab some packets of flavor to add, True Lemon is a healthy choice.

Keep it Simple: 3 Things

Improve your life with these 3 simple things!

1. Make your bed. It sounds so basic and dumb but it’s been proven over and over by many of the most successful people in the world. Try it. What do you have to lose? This practice takes about 3 minutes in the morning and it makes a huge difference mentally; it sends a signal to your brain and gets things firing! There’s many reasons why, look them up but, save some time and trust me that it’s worth a try.
2. Spend 15 minutes working on a big thing. Do you already make your bed? Take 15 minutes a day to work on one of your BIG things. Maybe that’s reading a book, writing your story, cleaning out a closet, applying for jobs, cooking a meal, working towards a goal that is just yours! This project is usually something that feels overwhelming to start because it’s an enormous mountain to climb, but you can tackle it 15 minutes at a time. Set the timer on your phone and do something for you today!
3. Take a break from your phone. Yes, take a break, set it down, like all the way down away from you —even in another room, turn off the TV, close your eyes and just take a breath for however long you can stand it. Some of us are so attached to our phones we can’t even think about them in another room. Work your way up but start today with at least one break.

A happy life must be to a great extent a quiet life, for it is only in an atmosphere of quiet that true joy dare live. -Bertrand Russell

The Gospel According to Tim

The gist of living better according to Timothy Ferriss

I have read “The 4 Hour Body” about 6 times. I check it out from the library a couple times a year because I am on a tight budget and I like free things. I have listened to the the author’s podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show for the last 10 or more years. Over the years I have listened to him interview the best of the best about their success in all areas of life. You might think I would be flying high on the rungs of success by now with all that great knowledge haha! Well, I have tried a few things and I have quit and failed a few things but I am here to start again. Because the biggest lesson I have learned from all the interviews he’s done is that success usually comes after multiple attempts or what we call failures.

I am not going to tackle them all in one post but the big thing for me right now is diet and exercise. I went and checked out the book again to review the plan and get going in the right direction.

The diet is a Slow Carb diet, so it’s like Keto but includes some carbs like beans basically. AND he promotes a 6 days on and 1 day off plan so you have a cheat day so to speak. These two things alone help ensure success because you have more to choose from and the variety in the diet is far more sustainable long term. The cheat day works because you don’t feel like you can NEVER have your favorite pizza or chocolate chip cookie again, you can have it just wait for your one day and plan to indulge then. I have done this diet before with a lot of success but for many reasons quit trying and gained back weight over the last few years.

Trust me I have a lot of good excuses like everyone else. I am an emotional eater, I do over indulge and I really quit exercising for the most part for a long time other than an occasional walk or bike ride. So beginning again is hard but it’s essential. I can’t keep buying the next size up and feeling uncomfortable in shorts and normal clothes. I can’t do it! So I started back with some basics and eased my way back into some scheduled exercise and over the last month I am starting to see some results. BUT I want to do better so I am going back to the advice and plans from Tim’s book and podcast.

Once you have selected the bare minimum to get started, get started.

Timothy Ferriss, The 4-Hour Body

It’s not outrageous or anything, it’s basic. Using The Slow Carb Diet, eating breakfast (goal of 30 grams of protein soon after waking up), and doing a small but effective set of exercises and cardio is the plan. That’s it really. So, if you want to try it out then look up more online about him, read his book or whatever but this is a resource book that I think everyone should read.

It’s not a should, it’s a must.

Tony Robbins

Another great resource for me in the battle to get back on track is any audio book read by Tony Robbins. Recently I listened to “Unleash the Power Within” and it got me moving in the right direction at least. I suggest audio because with him speaking, the motivational speech becomes hypnotic and transformational. He has a way of diving right in and helping you navigate around your excuses building some momentum to try whatever it is that you are wanting to do in your life to make it better. You can check out his audio books for free on library apps, or buy from Audible.

Every time I am in a rut I listen to his books and he just has a gift to inspire change and motivate people in an amazing way. So there are two great people to turn to if you’re like me and really need a kick in the ass to get going!

For the record and accountability purposes I am starting the diet and exercise plan which I will continue to track and share the progress. I eased into over the course of the last month and started to establish a workout plan and diet.

Here’s the truth: I am 45 years old , 5’3″ and I weigh 190 lbs (according to the scale) and it’s too much. That is an obese amount of weight on my short body. But I need to face it and do better, to look better and feel better. I have been working out and probably gaining muscle which added weight but now is the time to really make progress and shed the weight.

Friday will be my cheat day because that is when we have free pizza at work once a month and when I like to get pizza at home after the long week. Today is Saturday so I have 6 days to go!

Looking ahead,…in the next post I will share pictures and exercise strategy.

Let’s keep going!

Trying Again…

We all know what it feels like to fail, to quit, to retreat or give up on an idea. The idea can be so amazing in our minds thinking about the new endeavor, the journey or the risk. In our minds it lives like a wild animal with nothing to stop it from roaming and exploring all the possible avenues to explore. It sniffs the ground and air like a hound dog taking in every inch of the surroundings, bursting with possibilities. When you get an idea like that you’re flying high thinking how this is your moment! Then something happens, you get up and try. You brush off the dust of the journal, pull out the treadmill, strap on your skates, get out your paints, grab your equipment, your drawing pad or whatever it is and you’re doing this, it’s going to change your life. You can almost taste the rewards of success.

Sometimes, it doesn’t go as planned and sometimes you remember why you quit, it’s hard to try. It’s hard to put yourself out there and swallow your pride, get excited about something and keep going when everyone thinks it’s crazy. And here’s the thing everyone else likes it when you give up because it’s going to comfort their own insecurities of giving up too. Trying is harder. And when you are on the right path and feeling energized by your new direction and purpose this is the time to stay quiet for a bit while you gain momentum! The minute you speak your dreams a line forms to tell you why you can’t, why you won’t, why you are wrong, why it’s not that easy. And guess what? It’s not easy but you can do it and I can do it too!

I started this blog a long, long time ago and since then gave it up because I was feeling defeated and silly about the whole thing. Who wants to read this dumb blog anyways? But the thing is that when I looked back at my old articles or posts I remembered that I was having fun. I felt like I was getting somewhere and even if one person read it then I guess that’s enough. So, I am trying it again. I think the world could use a better blog. I want the posts to be mostly quick reads with a point of helping others while I help myself. We are all just trying to navigate the waters of the world in an attempt to make some kind of sense of the place and maybe feel some joy along the way! Let’s go.