Things I Cannot Live Without

Sorry it has been so long since I posted! It has been all sort of crazy around my house lately!

ANYWAYS! As I was walking around my house, making my grocery list, I thought of all the things I absolutely Cannot live without! These things are what help me to stay on track with my healthy lifestyle! So, I thought I would share them with you!

1.Justin’s Maple Almond Nut Butter

Seriously guys, this stuff is the best! Almond Butter is the shizz alone, but this just really hits the spot! It REALLY fills you up! I always add it to my breakfast, which leads us up to #2!

2. Organic Oatmeal

I like to eat complex carbs, because it gives my body what it needs to run, and it is also filling! So I like to start my morning with Greenwise organic oatmeal! If I am in a sweet mood, I will have the maple brown sugar! I love love LOVE to pair my oatmeal with Almond Butter, and sometimes I will use Almond milk instead of water.

3. Almond Breeze Unsweetened Almond Milk

My tummy is a little sensitive to milk, so I tried this about a year ago and I LOVE it! It is soooo low in calories, and can be used in cookie recipes, cake recipes, oatmeal, the possibilities are endless!

4. Tea

I do get a sweet tooth just like every other person on the planet, and when I do, I turn to my tea to help me! I will normally add some stevia too!

5. Stevia

I know that most people say to just quit artificial sweeteners entirely, which I agree that it will help you to crave less sugar in the long run, but I do think that some sweeteners are harmless. Sweeteners like Equal and Splenda can be addictive and do more harm than good, but as of yet, I have found no harm with Stevia!

6. My Tumbler

I know it seems silly, but this is something I carry EVERY WHERE! I love my tumbler because it reminds me to drink water and stay hydrated!

7. YurBuds ear buds

These are by far the best ear buds for running, or any sport. Not only do they have great sound, but, they really NEVER fall out of your ear. Worried about ear size? These bad boys come with different ear pieces in different sizes! I love them so much! Whos doesnt love a colorful pair of earphones that you don’t have to fumble with!

8. Phone Armband

I absolutely love my armband. I can keep my phone with me through my run, in case of any emergency I have or my family does. It also has a key holder, so I never have to leave the house unlocked! I like to plug in and get some music going to really push my runs, and beat record time on RunKeeper!

9. Magazines

While there is plenty of sites to look at in order to obtain healthy lifestyle information, there is nothing like sitting in bed, in a bath, by the pool, what have you, reading a magazine! Sometimes, you just gotta get away from the screen!

10. Slippers

Haha, this one I have just recently come to enjoy. So as you all well know, running is an high impact sport. So, sometimes you get sore! After my shower, I like to put lotion on my feet and slip them into my slippers so they feel pampered!

Those are my must haves of the moment! I am sure there are more, I just haven’t thought of them yet! Or simply haven’t encountered it yet!

What are somethings that help you continue and maintain your healthy lifestyle? Leave a comment below and let me know!

Sparkle and Shine!

Kelsie ❤

Honey Drizzled Quinoa and Green Beans with Butternut Squash

 

 

I Hope you all realize by now that…I adore butternut squash, lol! So I made this dinner off the top of my head, trying to get some protein and greens into my day! I hope you enjoy!

You will need: 

1/2 cup cooked quinoa

1 cup green beans

1 cup butternut squash

1 tsp honey

1 tsp cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste!

 

1. Microwave the butternut squash so it becomes soft (about 3 mins), until the point where you can pierce it with a fork.
2. Throw the green beans into the pan and cover with a lid to get them soft. 
3. When the beans are soft, add cayenne pepper and quinoa.
4. Cook those two pals together until they are nice and seasoned!
5. Place the mix on a seperate plate, throw the butternut squash into the pan, cover and let it cook for a minute!
6. Put everything onto the plate, take the honey and drizzle it over the green beans and Quinoa. Salt and pepper the butternut squash and TADA! Youre done! Enjoy this warm, comfortable meal!

Calories: 234 🙂

Battling Binge: Controlling the Urge

 

I wanted to touch on this one thing we all end up doing at one point or another: Binge eating. Now, I went through about two months of this, approximately 7 months after I started regular exercise and eating healthy everyday. It started with “Oh, I can have just one bite and be done” and went to “Well, I work really hard and eat well on my meals….” yeah, stupid lies. LOL! It took me FOREVER to get out of my binge stage, and back to one cheat meal a week. I wanted to share with you how to get out of a binge cycle, and how to never start it in the first place!

1. Do NOT take the first bite. That first bite is going to lead you to another, and another, and you wont stop until you’re full and you feel aweful!
2. Out of sight, out of mind. If you know that as soon as you walk into work, there are candy bars/whatever weakness you have, don’t even look at it. Just avert your eyes! If  you look at it, you will think about it. If you think about it, you will end up eating it!
3. Plan one cheat meal a week, and have whatever it was that you were craving in that meal. That way, when you are confronted by your Kryptonite, just remember, you will get to have it in just 6 days!
4. Focus your attention on something else. This can be helpful if you have already taken the first bite, are in a binge cycle, or are trying to prevent yourself from even taking that first bite. I found it helpful to read articles, walk around, chug water, talk to someone, drink hot tea, or do homework. 
5. Find something to replace that no-good-for-you item. For me, I replaced raisinets with my favorite unsweetened tea with stevia in it. It got my sweet tooth, and it helped me to create a new, better for me habit.
6. Confess that you have been eating bad to someone, making it not a secret anymore helps you to check yourself. 
7. Confess, write down, make a video of you confessing what your “inner fat kid” made you eat. Jenna Marbles did this in her video, “Junk Food Confessions”, it made me laugh and made me feel like even the best looking people have this problem at times!
8. Look into the food you’re eating, and remind yourself how bad it is for you. If its a processed food, look at the ingredients, that should do! I always use this “scare” tactic to keep myself away from the nasties!
9. Find someone to hold you accountable. When you know you have to go home, or tell someone at the end of the day if you binged or not, it will make you think twice when you meet your foe. 
10. Take a picture of everything you eat. That way you have to let everyone know that you ate bad!
11. Paint your nails! You cant eat bad with sticky nail polish!
12. Occupy your hands by painting, drawing, writing, something!
13. Think about how long you would have to workout to burn those calories you are about to shovel into your mouth, yikes!
14. Think about how much closer you could be ,if you didn’t eat that, to your goal!
15. Just say to yourself… “Is it really worth  it?” and write down the pros and cons of eating that cupcake… which wins out?

Day #1 of being a Weekday Veggie

 

 

 

 

 

So recently I was watching a TED talk series on Netflix titled “Chew on this”, and one of the speakers was commenting on meatless Monday and what made him become a weekday veggie. In a nutshell, his reasoning for being vegetarian for the weekdays, and eating meat on the weekend, is that our bodies used to not have meat available all the time like we do now; and our portion sizes for meat are all off, where as our meat is the main dish, veggies should be the main piece. I thought it made alot of sense, not to mention it will save me money! I have hit a plateau in my weight loss, so I am giving it a shot! My days meals went as follows:

Breakfast: Oatmeal and almond nut butter

Snack: Energy trail mix

lunch: Sauteed butternut squash and sweet potatoes.

Snack: Luna bar

Dinner: Sweet potato rounds sauteed in sweet onions and tofu noodles! (Pictured above!).

May I just saw how much I love sweet onions!?

I feel good so far! Got a lot done today and felt full with all the veggies in my belly!

 

Have a great day guys!

Sparkle and Shine!

Kelsie ❤

Fitsessed on Facebook!

Fitsessed on Facebook!

 

Now you can enjoy Fitsessed on Facebook too! Make sure to like the page, please!

 

Sparkle and Shine, 

Kelsie!

Top Ten Tips for Starting Your Diet

 

 

Top ten tips for starting your diet:

1) plan! Changing the way you think and eat is hard, so prepare yourself and keep yourself committed by having a plan! Craving something sweet? Have a low calorie treat you bought just for those cravings! Feeling rushed? Grab that frozen meal or have a low calorie dinner you already looked into. 

2) shop til the pounds drop!! 
When you have good food available, and great ways to prepare, you will opt for the healthy things! Research some recipes and go grocery shopping! Be Adventureous! Try at least ones new thing a week:)

3) start off easy. Don’t just one day start a diet! Most times, you’ll just end of feeling deprived. Ease your way into the state of mind! One week before your official start date, make choices everyday that lead you closer to your diet! 

4) know its not only going to make you look better, but feel better! Your fueling your body, so read the labels and know what you’re giving your body to thrive off!! 

5) get an accountability partner. Everything is fun when you do it with someone!! 

6) have one cheat meal a week!! Hey, we’re all human!! Treat yourself, you earned it! 

7) don’t drink your calories! Water, unsweetened tea, diet sodas If necessary! Soda is horrible for you anyways, you’ll thank me later! 

 make a motivational wall! All those cute pictures on Instagram and Pinterest actually help! Print them and put them in a place that you will see everyday. Pictures of you happy, and at your ideal weight are great too!! 

 stay busy. Reality, you’re not as hungry as you think. Most of the time it’s dehydration or boredom! Keep yourself occupied and it will help you curb cravings!

9) look into why you are craving things! Instead of giving in, look into why your body seems to need that brownie. 

10) count calories!! I have a lose it app, and its wonderful! Helps me to stay accountable. I say 1,200 calories is all you need a day:)

Quinoa and Almond Nut Butter Cereal!

Here we are! My first Quinoa meal! I think I will be enjoying these little guys more often! Maybe a cookie? In salads? It might even work as pizza crust! I will keep you all updated!

 

In the mean time, this is what you will need!

1/2 Cup cooked Quinoa

1/4 cup Almond milk (or regular milk)

2 TBS Almond Butter

1 packet of Stevia

 

Microwave the Almond Milk and Quinoa together for 2 minutes, then stir. 

Let the Quinoa thicken a bit by stirring it, then add the almond butter and stevia!

 

Enjoy, all for 309 calories 😉

 

Sparkle today!

 

Kelsie

Fitsessed is on Pinterest!

Fitsessed is on Pinterest!

Hey everyone! I just wanted to update you, that if you follow this link, you will be able to find my Fitsessed board on Pinterest with all the recipes and tips on this site! I will keep it updated as I post things on the blog! 

 

And watch for the facebook page! I will let you know when its ready!

 

Anyother social media sites you’d like to see Fitsessed on?

 

Shine and Sparkle!

Kelsie

Little things you can do, that will make a BIG difference

Have you been losing weight for a while, and now its stopped? Or, are you already at your goal weight and want to stay there? I have just the thing for you! Below I have posted some tips on what I have learned works. Try them! See how it goes! My rule is always to try something for 21 days, and if you don’t like it or it doesn’t work for you, then try something else!

 

1)If you’re going to eat a grain, eat it high fiber. Try to do oatmeal, high fiber, whole grain, no sugar added breads and grains. Just go ahead and break it up with bread and refined grains, I’m sure they will understand. Its better this way…

 

2) Do not drink your calories! Just don’t! Think about the last time a vanilla latte or that double mocha frappe filled you up and made you feel good…exactly. Now don’t get me wrong, I KNOW how boring water can be, but there are ways to spice things up! For example, tea! Try getting unsweetened tea in an assortment of flavors. Personally I add stevia so I get my sweet fix in! I always go to racetrac and get the unsweetened tropical tea and add stevia! OH MY GOODNESS! It helps. Also, try hot tea with Stevia in it. Hot tea comes in so many fun flavors! My personal favorites are Vanilla Chai, and Earl Grey!

 

3)Try tracking your calories. It worked for me, but for some people its annoying. What I like about it is that it keeps me accountable. It helps me to really look at what I am eating, before I eat it. It helps me eat less, where as some people, it makes them eat more! Just try it for 21 days and see how it goes! My apps I like to use are My Fitness Pal and Lose It. My Fitness Pal has a larger data base, but if you are new to the weight loss app scene, I suggest Lose it.

 

4) STAY FAR AWAY FROM ASPARTAME! This is a giant mistake I made when I first started. Aspartame is a neuro-toxin found in almost every item labeled “diet” or “sugar free”. Look out for it! This chemical actually makes you crave sweets more! On top of that, aspartame is addicting. I had a headache for days when I quit. This stuff is in gum, in diet bars, in artificial sweeteners! Its just no good for you in the long run!

5) Get your energy and fat from nuts, like cashews and almonds. This will give you long sustained energy that you need, versus the short and fast energy from grains. They are also super yummy on salads! But beware, nuts are looooaaaddeedd in calories! 

6)Get your sugar from fruits, instead of ice cream! Sugar in high quantities is no bueno, but, if you absolutely need it, grab a strawberry or apple instead of some ice cream. Once I had a bad sugar craving, so I grabbed a green apple and some almond nut butter, and it did exactly what it needed to do!

7) If you need to get over a plateau, or that extra push, ditch the artificial sweeteners. Although they are calorie free, your body still thinks it is taking in  sugar. I had to cut them out for two months while I was trying to get over a plateau. 

8) Veggies are your best friends! Eat about 70% veggies, and 30% protein in your meals. Vegetables have high counts of fiber, which helps you to stay full for longer. 

9) Make sure to schedule one “Cheat Meal” a week. Go all out! Make it an event! You worked hard and ate right for a whole week! Not only does this make you feel good, it is also good for your metabolism, and it helps prevent binges!

10) Always always ALWAYS eat breakfast. The days I accidentally sleep in and don’t have my breakfast, are the days when I eat the most. Breakfast should be you biggest meal, so pack it with the nutrition you need to keep you going!

11) Take the time to make your own food. I swear, nothing is more relaxing than cooking a homemade healthy meal. It makes you appreciate it, and it is a sure fire way to know what you’re putting in your tummy! You would be surprised at how many people add butter to EVERYTHING in restaurants. 

12)Lower your sodium in take. While I know that sodium is in a lot of the foods we eat, and when you start your new lifestyle, you may not want to give it up yet, it is beneficial to you. Salt can actually make you want fatty foods more, and its not good for your heart! A little salt here and there wont kill you though, so just keep in mind to limit yourself as much as you can. 

13) No carbs after noon. What good are they going to do in the later part of the day when you’re not as active? When you need it is when you are starting your day, like starting up a car! Got to give yourself some gas!

14) Complex carbs all the way. Eat things like oatmeal and avoid anything white. Accept tofu noodles, they are my buddies :).

15) Stop eating 4 hours before bed. Anything you eat after that is wasted calories. I have always stopped eating at 9pm. 

16) If you still cant achieve that flat tummy look, try to see if you are allergic to anything. For me, I was always looking bloated. So I took away the first obvious thing, gluten, which didn’t do much difference. Then I took away dairy, and that did the trick! I have always known I was intolerant to dairy, but I didn’t realize that it made that big of an impact! 

17) If you absolutely need chocolate, go for something with a cocoa percentage of 70% or higher. Sorry milk chocolate lovers, that stuff is just no good for you!

18) Reduce stress. Stress is actually good for you because it is your body preparing you to take on a challenge! So give yourself a hug for your body getting your back! But what stress produces, cortisol, is not good! We in out day and age stress out over the stupidest things, and cortisol actually holds onto fat! Resulting in the pudge you see at the bottom of your tummy. So take a moment to breathe, and just ten minutes a day to sit completely still, and not doing anything. I mean it!

19) Stuck on the same number on the scale, or in inches? Change up your workout routine. Sadly, our bodies are too smart for their own good. So if you do the same exercise for the same time every day, your body will adjust to it in order to survive. You have to keep it guessing!

20) Lastly, love yourself for where ever you are in your journey. You are trying, and you are working on yourself, and taking great care of the body you live in! You are doing something that more than half of Americans fail to do, so congratulations! You are creating a better future for yourself!

Shine and Sparkle!

 

Kelsie ❤

Ciao, refined grains! Hello Italian garlic goodness!

I felt a little Italian today! Parmesan and broccoli fettuccine&garlic bread! All this for…. Drum roll please!! 208 CALORIES!

1 package of tofu noodles, 1 cup of broccoli steamed, and garlic powder. Throw all these bad boys in a pan to quickly saute. Then put it all in a bowl, and add 2 tsp of grated Parmesan cheese! THEENNNNN, for le yummy garlic bread, toast two slices of whole grain toast, then rub one garlic clove on the slices, spray I can believe its not butter butter spray, and enjoy your Italian Dish! Guilt free!