Substitutions? Please!

Today marks the beginning of the third week on our Arbonne 30 Days to Healthy Living journey for 2019.

Am I dying of starvation?

Nope.

Am I feeling better?

You betcha!

Am I craving a burger and fries?

W-e-l-l, okay…yeah. I have to admit that I am – once in a great while, anyway. (But, trust me - not like the one pictured here. That's just plain obnoxious!)

But we’ve had so many salads over the past couple weeks with baked or grilled chicken and steamed veggies, that I swear I was dreaming about cheeseburgers the other night!

Instead of giving in to a burger with lots of gooey melted cheese and topped with a big, fluffy bun and served with a side of French fries smothered in ketchup, we had an organic burger topped with grilled onions and bell peppers. And with it we had some sweet potato fries cooked in our new air fryer.

No ketchup. No bun. No gooey melted cheese. But what we had satisfied my craving.

And, by the way, I’m not normally a big fan of the sweet potato – but these fries were delicious. And they were much better for us, too.

So while I can’t say I’m never going to have a cheeseburger and french fries again, I DO know there are some healthy alternatives out there that can take away the cravings.

Vince is currently working on a chicken, brown rice and vegetables dish for us as our meal today. And I have to tell you, it smells delicious!

I used to scoff at dietary substitutions. You know – substituting shredded zucchini for angel hair pasta. Or replacing chips and dip with raw veggies and hummus. Or replacing chocolate with…well, let’s not go crazy. There really isn’t much I would be satisfied with in place of chocolate.

Instead, I was the person who would say I’d rather not eat anything than try to meet a pasta craving with zucchini spirals.

Over the last year, however, I’ve come to realize that there are certain substitutions that aren’t so tough to make. And there is a kind of satisfaction in eating crunchy vegetables with hummus. I certainly don’t feel guilty after eating it as I would if I were snacking on, say, a bag of Cape Cod Kettle Chips.

And replacing our white basmati rice with organic brown rice has been surprisingly palatable. I used to turn up my nose at the thought of eating brown rice. Apparently, I’d never eaten it before and it just sounded dry and, well, not appetizing. But I don’t even notice the difference.

Live and learn, eh?!

And, even though we’re not currently eating it because we’re not sure it’s compliant with our 30 Day Program, there is a Boar’s Head chocolate hummus out there that tastes ah-mazing!  (And around the holidays they have a chocolate mint hummus that is even more ah-mazing!) Dipping fresh strawberries in this hummus satisfies even my sweet tooth!

So we’re going to keep on keeping on.  And, thanks to Arbonne, I’m already fitting into a size smaller pair of jeans. (Actually, funny story. I put them on yesterday and, instead of them fitting looser, I noticed they just fit me. So I was a little concerned that I wasn’t losing any weight. But then I realized that I have two different sizes of the same jeans – and these were the smaller size. So…yay me!)

Oh, and by the way, our meal was delicious. Brown rice and all.

So thanks for reading. Back with more later!

Oops! Perhaps We Should Have Refused the Bubbly

Well, it’s the second week after we’ve started our 30 Days to Healthy Living program.  Can I say we’ve been 100% compliant to our regimen?

Um…sadly…no. I cannot.

We went to a champagne reception over the weekend where, believe it or not, champagne was served.  (Duh.)

At first, we managed to stick to plain ol’ H2O, but as the evening drew to a close and we sat around the table chatting and laughing with the hosts and other friends, more bottles of champagne managed to find their way to our table.

So, c’mon. We couldn’t have been rude about it and refuse the bubbly now, could we?! Besides, there wasn’t any readily available water.

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ with it, anyway.

But the beauty of making a healthy lifestyle change is that we can forgive ourselves and move on. And the next day for lunch we had healthy soups and salads. 

And plain ol' H2O.

Today we are back on track. No champagne. No sweets. No junk.

And we’re feelin’ good!

Back with more later.

And So it Begins – Arbonne’s 30 Days to Healthy Living Program

Vince and I started our Arbonne’s 30 Days to Healthy Living program on Monday.  Woohoo!

We aren’t novices at this gig any longer, so it’s not as big a deal.  But the reasons we’re doing it again make it a big deal. We want to feel better, drop some more weight and Vince would like to improve even more his diabetic condition.  

So wish us luck, would you?

I had intended to write a blog a day – at least five per week – documenting our progress and following our journey.

Obviously, that didn’t happen on Day 1. Nor did it happen on Day 2.

Why not?

Well, I suspect it was because of the way I was awakened Monday morning. Vince got up all cheery-like as he usually does. I, on the other hand, do not ever wake up all cheery-like.  

He then proceeded to rip the covers off of me and poke me in the shoulder multiple times. When I grouchily said, “WHAT?!” and attempted to pull the covers back over myself, he cheerily stated, “Come on. We’re going to the gym!”

Uh. No. No, we are not.

I only get up first thing in the morning and go to the gym once I’ve been back into the gym routine for a while. I have to ease into the whole getting up first thing in the morning and donning workout clothes and actually working out.  And just jumping into it all willy-nilly like Vince wanted to do? Not happening.

And, really, I think the only reason someone should rip the covers off of me and poke me in the shoulder first thing in the morning is if, I don’t know, there's a fire in the house or something. Then – even though I’d still probably grouchily say, “WHAT?!” at the disturbance – I’d eventually be grateful that my life was being saved.

Maybe.

Anyway, I have to admit. I was pretty grouchy the rest of the day.

So no gym happened. And no blogging occurred. But we did eat clean and healthy for our first day on our 30 Day journey.

The avoid list sounds long – and it is – but we’re used to it by now.  It includes: No dairy, soy, sugar, refined carbs, alcohol, coffee and gluten.

Lots of people read the “no coffee” thing and say, “I’m out!” And we were the same way last year – especially Vince. He was the guy who had two shots of espresso first thing in the morning – and then supplemented that caffeine kick with several cups of coffee throughout the morning. But, really? It’s something you get used to real quick.

So even though we weren’t being quite as strict with our diet since we finished the first “30 Days” program last February, we didn’t reintroduce things like coffee. And we limited the amount of the other things on the “no-no” list.

So instead of coffee every morning, we drink our Arbonne fizz sticks, which are oh-so-tasty and good for us. Oh, and by the way, it’s not that coffee is bad for us, but the 30 Days to Healthy Living program is designed to get the body in an alkaline state. And coffee? Well, coffee is definitely acidic.

So we had our cup of detox tea and our morning protein shake with its vegan, plant-based pea protein. We add berries, kale and some Arbonne fiber boost and greens balance and – voila! – we are set for the morning.

Our one meal of the day has been a big healthy salad with lots of greens, some organic grilled chicken and a tasty vinaigrette made with apple cider vinegar.

And then our last meal is another shake.

Vince usually supplements his food intake with a few snacks – like maybe a handful of whole almonds or a green apple with almond butter. And, today, he had a sweet potato with a little coconut oil along with his salad for his meal.

But it’s pretty simple.

Best of all – we’re not hungry. Nor do we really miss all the junk – the sugar, simple carbs, etc.

Could we live this way every day? Well, sure, I suppose so. We feel better. And it’s better for us. And certainly we can do it for 30 days.

But every so often a person wants a glass of wine. Or a slice of bread to go with that pasta. Or a piece of chocolate cake. And that’s what the 80/20 program is all about.

But more on that later.

In the meantime, this blog has to make up for the past two days. So it’s a little longer. I’m going to try to keep the rest of them fairly short and sweet. (This, coming from me – the person who can’t be succinct to save her life.)  But I’m gonna try.

And I’m also gonna try getting to the gym. I need to talk Vince into a more civilized time – like, say, at least after our detox tea and shake.  Noon might be even better, but I imagine we'll have to negotiate that.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Feel free to give us some encouragement. Or tell us about your weight loss and healthy living journey.

I’ll be back with more later!