Operation Slim This Belly Down

Pictures displaying ways to obtain healthier skin and a healthier body

As many of you know, I have been trying really hard to slim my belly down and acquire healthier looking skin.

I have acquired my goal weight, now I have to work on my belly. For the last month or so, I have been working on slimming my belly down. This has consisted of morning exercises, such as: Stretching, downward dog, plank, and push ups. I can definitely see some difference in my stomach.

In regards to healthier looking skin, this is still a work in progress. Recently, I was using some type of facial wash product that actually broke out my face. It took me a while to recover from this, but I finally did. I purchased an all natural daily face product called "Yes to Carrots." This product eliminated my facial breakouts. I absolutely love this product and definitely recommend it to other individuals who need to use a healthy product for facial breakouts.

Who Said Being a Vegetarian Had to be Boring?

Popular to some people's belief, being a vegetarian does not have to be boring. Comments I have received for being vegetarian are: Why? What can you eat, only vegetables? When people think of vegetarians, they don't realize that there are various types of vegetarians such as: Vegan, Ovo Vegetarian, Lacto Vegetarian, Lacto-ovo Vegetarian, Pollotarian, Flexitarian, Pescatarian, and other forms. Depending on the type of vegetarian you are, you are able to consume some type of meat, seafood, or animal by-products.

Below you will witness that being a Lacto-ovo Vegetarian is definitely not boring. These are dishes I have made by living this lifestyle for 1 year and 3 months now. This choice has led me to losing over 25 lbs.

Spinach Omelet, Strawberry, and toast

Red Hot Vegetarian Chili 

Taco Salad with all the fixins 

Mexican Tortilla Pizza

Boring never looked this good...

Let's Get Fit

Lately, I have been with #TeamFitness in shedding these additional 10 lbs. A few months ago, I wanted to lose 20 lbs. Well guys, I am here to tell you that I am 25 lbs lighter than I was before. However, my job is yet from being over. I would like to lose an additional 10 lbs and continue eating healthy and exercising. Becoming a vegetarian in December of 2013 really assisted me in this journey. Although I am a vegetarian, I still have to make sure I am not consuming too much food high in carbohydrates and fat. Being a vegetarian does not mean that I can eat more or all of my selections are going to be healthy. It just means that I am not consuming certain foods. I am what is considered a "Lacto-ovo Vegetarian." This is a person who does not eat any animal byproducts besides dairy and egg products. There are many other types of vegetarians, such as: Lacto vegetarian, ovo vegetarian, flexitarian, pescatarian, vegan, etc. It just depends on your preference.

Today in my effort of getting fit, I went for a walk at a park in New Jersey. Check out my pic here on instam: Walking at the park.  

Make a commitment with me today and join me in my effort to live a more healthy conscious life. You deserve to give health a change.

Food for the Vegetarian Lover's Soul

People who are vegetarian have a lot of different options to choose from when it comes to eating a good meal. Some people may believe that vegetarian food is flavorless and inedible. Very untrue. When I first became a vegetarian, I thought about what I was going to eat, how I was going to prepare it, and if I would like it. After four months of being a vegetarian, I have learned to cook delicious meals, as seen below.

Stuffed Mushrooms and Greens

A few weeks ago, I made some stuffed mushrooms and greens. In making the stuffed mushrooms, I used the following ingredients: Green pepper, red pepper, yellow pepper, orange pepper, garlic, greens, tomato sauce, and spinach. Yummy!

Brussels Sprouts, Corn on the Cobb, and Green Beans

A month ago, I made brussel sprouts, corn on the cobb, and green beans. I used the following ingredients: Green pepper, garlic, onion powder, black pepper, and balsamic and basil vinaigrette dressing. Hmm.

Last month, I made brussel sprouts with pineapples and asparagus. Spinach was included in my meal, which was made a my new found grandma. Lol! Love her spinach. I used the following ingredients: Green pepper, garlic, onion powder, black pepper, and balsamic and basil vinaigrette dressing. Scrumptious.

Until next meal... Enjoy!

Want to Be Vegan Do You?

Wondering About a Vegan Diet? – An infographic by the team at PETA

Manipulating Your Mind for A Healthier You

Wednesday, January 1, 2014 marks two weeks since I became a vegetarian. All I can say is, so far so good. It is so amazing how people believed I would get tempted by certain things; however I have not stopped my current journey to enlightenment, restraint, and a healthier me. What some fail to realize is that I have already been tested by similar circumstances. These certain circumstances assisted me with discontinuing to allow my emotions run the way I thought about certain things. The mind is a very challenging organ to control. Once you learned the techniques of controlling my mind, I was well on your way of becoming healthier through healthy mind manipulation.  

My five steps in Manipulating Your Mind for Health Results

1. Understand the things (Food, behaviors, etc.) that tempt you, such as candy, cookies, and TV. This allows you to know some of the things you want to decrease or stop doing.
2. Make a plan to decrease and eventually eliminate your unhealthy vices. A plan allows you to come up with concrete strategies.
3. Eliminate these things little by little. It makes no sense abruptly giving up on everything at once and relapsing to where you binge out of control.
4. Bring yourself into contact with these unhealthy vices from time. The only way to show that you have self-restraint is by actually coming into contact with these things and having the strength to stand by your decision. 
5. Say no. Tell yourself that you do not need certain things. Saying no to yourself allows you to understand that this may be something that you want; however not necessarily something you need. After a while of saying no to things, you will be able to conquer feelings of wanting something.

These are just a few of the steps I have used to health manipulate my mind to a healthier me. Are you ready for a healthier you?

Christmas Challenges of Becoming a Vegetarian

So for some of you who are unaware, I recently made the decision to become a vegetarian. My decision to become a vegetarian was not a rash decision that I just made one day. It actually came from long debate within myself about being one. See, while obtaining my undergraduate degree in Health Promotion and Fitness in college, I had learned about the different types of vegetarians. My decision also came from me always wanting to be a vegetarian, like I always wanted to be natural. It has practically been five years since I went natural, so why not become a vegetarian? To be honest, I was practically on my way to becoming one anyways; I rarely ate red meat, consumed mostly baked fish and chicken, ate fruits and vegetables on a regular basis, and drank mostly water every chance I had. It was time for a lifestyle change that would affect my eating patterns.

In making my recent decision, I knew that I would have to do research because my undergraduate degree was obtained quite a while ago. So I decided to google: Vegetarian types. My research led me to About.com and its list for the "Top 7 Types of Vegetarians." These types consisted of: Pescatarian, Flexitarian/Semi-vegetarian, Lacto-vegetarian, Ovo-vegetarian, Vegan, Raw vegan/Raw food diet, and Macrobiotic. After a thorough review, I decided to become a Lacto-vegetarian with the possibility of transitioning to a Ovo-vegetarian or Macrobiotic once I was able to identify what my body needed. I say this because a co-worker told me that some blood types were unable to sustain the vegetarian lifestyle, so I should be very careful with my tactics. Well, so far so good. I have been a vegetarian for a week now. The challenge in being a vegetarian is not being tempted by eating meat. The challenge is actually finding food during the holidays or other events that I am able to eat. Today, for Christmas, my family cooked ham, greens, macaroni and cheese, yams, and rolls. Eating ham was definitely off my list. While I imagined that I would be able to eat greens, I was disheartened when I found out that the greens were flavored with bacon. So my holiday dinner consisted of macaroni and cheese, rolls, and a salad. I definitely do not presume this to be a challenge for me next year. I will just have to master the vegetarian lifestyle next Christmas by reading books, reading blogs, and researching information on the internet.

~So you want to become a vegetarian too?