How I got started....

I'm so glad that so many of you have called me or read my blog and are motivated to start making some healthy changes. Please keep in mind that I am by no means a professional dietitian it's just  after so many years of diet pills and starving, I'm so glad that I was introduced to this plan because for me carb’s were my downfall. Like with any weight loss plan it will be hard to get started and stick to, however I feel carb cycling is different and a much more reasonable plan to stick to because for one: you are not totally depriving yourself of carb’s and two: you are allowed a “cheat or re-feed” meal. The hardest thing about dieting is feeling deprived and confined to the diet. Joshua & I hate the word “diet” because well a diet is something you do for a while and lose some weight but then what? You go right back to your old way of eating and feel like you’ve failed the diet!! You have to change your lifestyle if you want to be healthy and STAY healthy. With carb cycling it teaches you to stick to a plan and then you will be rewarded with your favorite meal but after that meal get right back on track! After awhile your favorite meals will change. I remember the first time we were allowed to have a cheat meal. Where did we go you might wonder… McDonald's! I had a DBL cheeseburger, Joshua had his favorite fillet of fish sandwich and we shared a small fry, LOL. What’s funny now is that McDonald's or any other fast food establishment wouldn’t be my cheat meal. It would be a very expensive dinner at a fabulous restaurant with yummy decadent dessert!!! MMMMM

The first 2 weeks were so hard. The constant eating, planning, boring food, and confusion of what cycle day is was could be mentally frustrating at times. But I always felt full, I started seeing results immediately and the best part of all I was able to stick to it. I wanted to lose the weight so bad so I  followed the plan!! I carb cycled from April to Aug and lost 20 lbs. By the time the wedding had rolled around I was used to eating 4-6 times a day and making good food choices without going overboard. I started eating the things I liked and stayed conscious of what I was eating. A week after the wedding I got right on my plan but this time I changed my high carb days to med carb days and low carb to no carb. I really stepped it up in the gym to and the weight once again started coming off. I was super motivated from the results I had before and I knew I wanted to keep going to meet my goal. At Thanksgiving I ate what I wanted that day and then right back to my plan. At Christmas I ate what I wanted and then right back to my plan. At this point when I cheated or ate something bad it made me feel bad physically and mentally. I realized I didn't need those foods anymore and my cravings seemed less and less.

Now when I do get food off my plan I really think about what that food is doing for me nutritionally and if that food is worth the set back or not. I also expect higher quality foods now. I used to be the Queen of fast food. I never thought I would be able to give it up but NOW, I wouldn't even touch that stuff. It makes me so mad to think about how much of it I was eating. Instead of comforting me it was making FAT and DEPRESSED... It should be outlawed but so should cigarettes and heroin, lol. You have to make the choice to eat crap or not.....

The best thing that I've gotten out all the weight loss, all the pain in the gym, all the times I just wanted to sleep a little longer or eat what I wanted, is empowerment. I am in total control of my body and what goes in it. I don't let food or stress control me. I have read that statement so many times in magazines and heard it on TV thinking "yea right", but its so true and now I have it.

I have listed what I like to call an "essentials kit". It will be everything you will need day to day to get started and make life easier.

- a food scale (you will be weighing all your meats)

- measuring spoons

- measuring cup

- a printed copy of clean foods and your meal plan (we put ours right on the fridge so we knew exactly what we should be eating next)

- The only time i worry about calories is when I'm not following my plan and then i try to stick to under 2000.

- a blender bottle if you will be consuming protein shakes (ask me about this if your interested)

Carb Rotation

Monday: Med

Tuesday: Med

Wednesday: Low

Thursday: Med

Friday: Low

Saturday: High

Sunday: Low

Low Carb Days- 50 grams or less

Meal 1: 4-6 oz of lean protein/ 25 grams of complex carbs

Meal 2: 4-6 oz of lean protein/ 25 grams of complex carbs

Meal 3: 4-6 oz of lean protein/ NO CARBS/ Veggies

Meal 4: 4-6 oz of lean protein/ NO CARBS/ Veggies

Meal 5: 30 grams of lean protein/ NO CARBS/ Veggies

 Med Carb Day- 50-90 grams

Meal 1: 4-6 oz of lean protein/ 25 grams of complex carbs

Meal 2: 4-6 oz of lean protein/ 25 grams of complex carbs

Meal 3: 4-6 oz of lean protein/ 25 grams of complex carbs

Meal 4: 4-6 oz of lean protein/ NO CARBS/  Veggies

Meal 5: 4-6 oz of lean protein/ NO CARBS/  Veggies

 High Carb Day- 90-100 grams

Meal 1: 4-6 oz of lean protein/ 25 grams of complex carbs

Meal 2: 4-6 oz of lean protein/ 25 grams of complex carbs

Meal 3: 4-6 oz of lean protein/ 25 grams of complex carbs

Meal 4: 4-6 oz of lean protein/ 25 grams of complex carbs

Meal 5: 4-6 oz of lean protein/ NO CARBS/ Veggies

*Cheat days will be on High Carb days.

- Eat every 2 1/2 to 3 hours to keep your blood sugar level

- Don't be afraid to be creative. Add spices and rubs to meat but try to limit sauces for now. If you must, a tablespoon is plenty

- Measure and weigh everything!

- Try to limit fruits for now because they are loaded in sugar which spikes your insulin. Even if its natural sugar it’s still SUGAR!

Example Day:

Low Carb Day: 

7am Meal 1: 4 Egg whites/ 1 whole egg with 1 tablespoon of salsa if you like/ 1/2 cup of plain oatmeal with cinnamon and sweet and low

10am Meal 2: 1/2 cup of cottage chz with 1/2 cup of blueberries

1pm Meal 3: 4-6 oz of grilled chx with 1/2 a sweet potato

4pm Meal 4: 1/2 cup non-fat Greek yogurt (make sure to add some sweet & low because it will taste like sour cream other wise) 

7pm Meal 5: 4-6 oz of fish with 1 cup of green beans or a salad with balsamic vinaigrette

Recommended Supplements:

Multi Vitamin

Vit C

Fish Oil

Clean Foods: Print & put on your fridge!!! & one in your purse!

PROTEINS 

Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast 
Tuna (water packed) 
Fish (salmon, seabass, halibut, swai) 
Shrimp 
Extra Lean Ground Beef or Ground Round (92-96%) 
Venison 
Buffalo 
Ostrich 
Protein Powder ( Whey or egg white) 
Egg Whites or Eggs 
Ribeye Steaks or Roast 
Top Round Steaks or Roast (aka Stew Meat, London Broil, Stir Fry) 
Top Sirloin (aka Sirloin Top Butt) 
Beef Tenderloin (aka Filet, Filet Mignon) 
Top Loin (NY Strip Steak) 
Flank Steak (Sir Fry, Fajita) 
Eye of Round (Cube Meat, Stew Meat, Bottom Round , 96% LeandGround Round) 
Ground turkey, Turkey Breast Slices or cutlets (fresh meat, not deli cuts)

Low-fat cottage cheese 
Eggs 
Low or Non-Fat Milk 

COMPLEX CARBS 

Oatmeal (Old Fashioned or Quick Oats) 
Sweet Potatoes 
Yams 
Beans (pinto, black, kidney) 
Oat Bran Cereal 
Rye Cereal 
Brown Rice / mulit gain rice 
Farina (Cream of Wheat) 
Multigrain Hot Cereal 
Whole wheat or Spinach Pasta 
Rice (white, jasmine, basmati, Arborio, wild) 
Potatoes (red, baking, new) 

FIBROUS CARBS (not canned) 

Green Leafy Lettuce (Green Leaf, Red, Leaf, Romaine) 
Broccoli 
Asparagus 
String Beans 
Spinach 
Bell Peppers 
Brussels Sprouts 
Cauliflower 
Cabbage 
Celery 
Cucumber 
Eggplant 
Green or Red Pepper 
Green beans 
Onions 
Pumpkin 
Garlic 
Tomatoes 
Zucchini 

FRUIT 

(limited: apples, grapefruit, peaches, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, lemons or limes 

HEALTHY FATS 

Natural Style Peanut Butter 
Olive Oil or Safflower Oil 
Nuts (peanuts, almonds 
Flaxseed Oil 
Fish oil 


CONDIMENTS & SPICES 

Water

Sugar Free Juice Mix (Wal-Mart)
Crystal Light 
Fat Free Mayonnaise 
Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce 
Reduced Sodium Teriyaki Sauce 
Balsamic Vinegar 
Salsa 
Hot Peppers and Hot Sauce 
Chili powder 
Mrs. Dash 
Steak Sauce 
Sugar Free Maple Syrup 
Chili Paste 
Mustard 
Extracts (vanilla, almond, etc ) 
Low Sodium beef or chicken broth 
Plain or reduced sodium tomatoes sauce, puree, paste) 

Its all about looking at the list, choosing your options for that meal and being creative. If you can follow this plan for 2 weeks i promise you the scale won’t lie. Then on Saturday of week 2 treat yourself to whatever you want for anyone of the meals. We would go out to eat because we never could any other time or cook greasy cheeseburgers and fries at home, lol. Homemade pizza is good to! 

Follow the plan for at least 12 weeks by then you'll have a grip on what your doing and how to meal plan. 

For the kids

We still buy things that Taylor likes to eat but that he has to prepare himself (easy things) and that are fairly healthy. Whole wheat spaghetti & sauce, turkey hot dogs on whole wheat buns, hamburgers or sloppy joes, tacos. Some snack idea's for them could be apples and peanut butter, wheat thins and low fat cheese or cream cheese, fruit. Celery and peanut butter. Carrots and light ranch. I would just really limit processed foods and encourage whole foods. That might be your biggest challenge though, lol. Kids like what they like. If they really resist you try to really make your point about why it’s important to eat healthy and what processed foods do to your body. Joshua always likes to use cavemen as an example. He says back in the day, lol, cavemen didn’t eat slim jim’s and fruit roll ups. They hunted for their meats and foraged for fruits, grains and veggies. Now it’s just handed to us through a window and we don’t even have to think about what were eating. 

On the go!

If you know your going to be running the roads all day and won’t be at home much or you work, prepare your meals the night before. I always look at my plan and try to make and package all the meals I know I will need. Turkey sandwiches on wheat bread are always an easy on the go meal. 

Exercise

Try to commit to 3 days a week of anything. Walking, tennis, at home DVD, yoga classes, or whatever interest you, for about 30-45 mins. I had already been going to the gym so I found a 4 week workout plan online and started doing that. Each 4 weeks change it up and challenge yourself more. I can also help with a weight lifting/ cardio plan if you need some help getting started.

I encourage you to do some online research about carb cycling, keeping your blood sugar levels consistent and what proteins and carb’s do for the body. It all works together for a purpose.

I will also post some recipes that we like and some informative website's to check out. Email me anytime you have a question or need help. There's nothing on this plan I haven't done myself so you can do it to!!!

Here's to finding your NorthStar