Monday, February 4, 2013

Monthly Measures #1


I'm joining up with Nicole for her Monthly Measures. The first Monday of every month I'll be posting something related to health/fitness/weight loss. Back in November I embarked on a new weight loss journey; I even thought about doing a separate blog about it, even if just for myself. But I like this idea of checking in on a monthly basis, making myself accountable, and hopefully encouraging others along the way.




Since mid-November I've changed my eating habits. I don't deprive myself of something if I want to eat it (on Saturday I really wanted pizza so we ordered one, and it was delicious and I don't regret it one bit) but I am making smarter choices and doing much better at portion control. In 12 weeks I've lost 14 pounds. I'm happy with that. I'm not looking for a quick fix that will eventually backfire. I'm not quite ready to give you numbers as to how much I weigh, but suffice it to say that I still have a ways to go.

One of the things I've been making sure I do is eat breakfast. It might only be a protein bar, but I try to make sure I eat something that's balanced. To help me stay on track with this, I downloaded an app to my iPhone called Commit ($2.99). It helps remind you to do something (anything you want) every day. Right now my only one is eating breakfast. I once had flossing in there but that didn't stick...yet. I have it set to ask me every day at 10:00 am if I've had breakfast, and at the bottom is a visual guide to tell me how many days in a row I've done it.

Today made 62 days in a row!

I try to switch up my breakfasts so I don't get bored: eggs, oatmeal, protein bar. I also have a new favorite smoothie, which I found at Green Plate Rule. Here's a link to the original recipe:


It calls for almond milk, almond butter, blueberries, greens (I use spinach) and chia seeds. I haven't tried chia seeds yet, but I already have ground flax seeds so I use that instead. I also add whey protein powder, vanilla flavored. And lately I've changed it up a little more by substituting lemon flavored fish oil for the almond butter, making it a blueberry-lemon smoothie. I just love the combination of blueberries and lemons - so refreshing!

Here's the fish oil supplement I'm using. I get the lemon zest flavor, but I'm looking forward to trying other flavors as well. You can by it from the Barlean's website, or Google it to buy from another retailer.

Barlean's Omega Swirl

Thanks Nicole, for hosting this link up! I'll be checking back in next month.

Stay Tuned,

The Gila




7 comments:

  1. COngrats on the weight loss, Gwen! That's awesome!

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  2. Great job on the pounds! I'm trying to make better choices too. Good so far.

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  3. You are doing all the right things! Good for you!

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  4. Congrats on the weightloss. I too am trying to make better choices... We'll see where this leads me. Keep it up!

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  5. I had to do anonymous even thought it's clearly ME :)
    I'm proud of you........I need to do the same.
    Thanks for keeping it real.
    Love you.

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  6. Oh I loved reading this! Thanks for posting. I am on the journey with you :)
    -Christin

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  7. This is SO awesome, Gwen! I'm with you on the whole not depriving yourself. Doing so is grounds for failure in my opinion. It's all about moderation with everything. As far as breakfast, it's my favorite meal of the day; however, with a little one I often forget. Crazy thing is, i make her breakfast but spend time doing other stuff while she eats instead of sitting down eating with her...silly, I know. You've made me want to do better so I'm thinking about that app you suggested!

    It's SO exciting having you participate in the link-up (thanks :))! I look forward to hearing about your progress each month!!!

    We can do it!!!

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