The Power of Progress

There's an idea I want to share that seems to have smacked me in the face several times over the last week or so.

here it is plain and simple:

WE WERE NOT CREATED PHYSICALLY EQUAL

I know what you're thinking. "uh...I'm pretty sure I already knew that..."
But did you, really?

I swear this is exactly what her calves look like!

I have a perfect example of this. I'm 5"11, and because my legs are quite long, it has been a struggle my entire life to get any kind of muscle definition in them. My calves remain tiny no matter how much I jump rope or how many calf presses I do. By contrast, my best friend is 5"2 and has the most beautifully defined legs I've ever seen. She hasn't done anything extraordinary to deserve them - they were simply given to her as part of her genetics! My friend and I went to the gym together right before I took her to the MTC, and we decided to do a couple of leg exercises. Of course I expected her to be able to lift way more than me, and I teased her about it before we started. Much to my surprise, however, I ended up lifting nearly double the weight she did on every exercise! What is with that? Every day I see women with beautifully defined calves, and consciously I think, wow, I wish I had calves like that, I wonder what she does to have calves like that!! But subconsciously I'm pretty sure my thoughts look something more like this:

"She has better calves than me, therefore, she is more fit than me, therefore, she is more beautiful than me, therefore, I am of less worth than her."

This is ridiculous, right? She is NOT worth more than me simply because her calves are bigger. But that's what my brain tells me when I see a physical trait someone else has that I don't have.
The problem with this thinking is that it is disabling, demotivating, depressing, and most of all, wrong. 

Remember the parable of the talents?

The Master gave a different amount of talents to each of his servants. The one who was given five talents went out and traded with them, doubled what he was given, and returned with ten. The Master was pleased and rewarded him accordingly. The one who was given two talents also returned with double, and even though he still brought back less total talents than the first, he received the same reward. The last servant was only given one talent, and because he was too afraid to lose it, he dug a hole, buried it, and did not try to increase his number of talents. When he returned with the one talent, the Master was very disappointed and even took the talent from him and gave it to the servant who already had ten.

Alma 34:33 says, "And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed."

Notice Alma did not say, "if we do not end up better than our fellow brethren while in this life..." he said, "if we do not improve our time..."

So what am I trying to get at here?
What do calves and talents and Book of Mormon heroes have to do with anything?

I want to expand on what I said earlier. We were not created physically equal, because God didn't want it that way. He gave us bodies as a gift, with the expectation that we would use them in the best way possible to learn and grow while we're here on this earth. He provided us with the opportunity for progress, and PROGRESS is what is important. Even more than that, INDIVIDUAL PROGRESS is what's the most important.

If ten runners each begin the race at a different starting point, it is impossible to tell who is ahead or behind by simply looking at where the runners are on the track relative to each other. That is why it is completely useless to try and compare ourselves to others. We are each on our own individual journey, and if we want to please ourselves and God, we have to remember that it's not about where we are now or where we started, it's about how far we've come. I can measure my own progress by looking only at myself and no one else.

So yeah, don't go to the gym and feel bad because there are people who look slimmer or lift more or have better calves than you. They don't matter! What matters is that you use the talents you've been given and "improve upon them". There is power in progress!

P.S. I know when it comes to specific competitions like swimsuit at Miss Idaho it is important to realize what we will be up against so that we can know where to set our goals. But I decided that once I've determined to reach those goals, every workout I accomplish and nutritious meal I eat will be for the purpose of attaining those goals FOR MYSELF, not so I can look at one of my competitors and say, I'm more fit than her. I want to feel good in knowing how far I've come, and that I have taken the body I was given and improved upon it. That is a million times more valuable to me than knowing my dress size is smaller than someone elses :)

Eat those pancakes! The good way :)

 One thing I will definitely say I miss since starting the ketogenic diet OR the paleo diet has been pancakes. Straight up flour fried in a pan and topped with liquid sugar. Yeah they're definitely not the best for you (full of toxins and insulin-raising carbs) but they sure are yummy! So I decided I wanted to find a way to still enjoy my pancakes and not feel guilty about destroying my body while I'm at it...

And now we have another grain-free, low-carb recipe. This one is not my own, but it's too good not to share!

1/2c unsweetened applesauce
1/2c nut butter (I use almond butter)
2 eggs
1/4 tsp cinammon
1/4 tsp vanilla

Mix all the ingredients together until the batter is uniform, then pour a glop on the frying pan on medium heat and cook until the bubbles on top pop and stay popped. Then flip and finish cooking! Makes about six medium sized pancakes.

I like to eat my pancakes with a little applesauce on top (mixed with about two drops of vanilla stevia and some cinammon) SO DELICIOUS!!!

Holiday Health Havoc

Just so ya'll know, I'm competing in Miss Idaho in July, and I decided this year that if nothing else, I am going to try and win the swimsuit competition. This is no small feat - I was blown away last year by the level of fitness my competitors achieved, and I realized that even though weighing 140 at a height of 5"11 was not overweight by any means, I was nowhere near what I needed to be in terms of lean muscle mass and body fat percentage. I simply could not compete.

Here are some state winners at the Miss America competition...yeah...they look good

It wasn't just the fact that I probably scored lower than the other contestants when it came to swimsuit that makes me so keen to pick winning this specific area of competition as the ultimate goal. I remember arriving at NNU where the competition was held two days before the actual performance and immediately feeling extremely intimidated by the other girls. I found myself looking them up and down, comparing their bodies to mine, and even though I hadn't seen their talents yet or heard them speak in public I started having serious doubts about whether I had a chance at the title or not. I spent the rest of the week feeling down about myself and losing confidence every time we practiced our walking patterns in swimsuit or evening gown. I then went into my interview feeling less confident than ever and I ended up bombing the dang thing and screwing over my chance to be hired for my ultimate dream job. Talent didn't go any better, and my parents told me there was something missing in my eyes when I came out on stage for swimsuit and evening gown. I know now it was complete lack of confidence.

There is something to be said for loving and accepting your body just the way it is. In general I believe in this principle. However, I also believe in progress and challenging myself to do hard things. We should never fully accept ourselves the way we are, because then we would never be motivated to improve! When it comes to the Miss Idaho competition, I want to pull out all the stops. I'm going to give it everything I have, because I want to look back on my preparation with no regrets and no excuses. Swimsuit, fortunately, is the one area of competition that is completely under my control. Even with massive amounts of preparation, I may bomb my interview again, or forget my piano solo in the middle of the performance, or say something really stupid onstage, or the judges just might not be feeling me that night. But no matter what happens my body will still be exactly how I prepared it to be. There's no stopping it. And I want to enter the competition feeling confident that even if everything else goes wrong I will still be able to show the judges how dang hard I worked to live a healthy lifestyle and sculpt my body into the lean, attractive silhouette it was meant to be.

I also know that being confident in that area will spread across to each of the other areas of competition. If I can spend the week before the performance relaxed and focused on the competition at hand instead of sizing up the other girls and being all worried that I'll look fat onstage, everything will go smoother and I know I'll have a better experience.

That being said, I made a goal to lose 20 lbs by January 18th. I want to have this out of the way early so I'm not crash dieting a month before Miss Idaho. At the time I made the goal, I had exactly two months to complete it. Now its the week after thanksgiving and I've gained two pounds and lost a week of my precious time. Dieting over the holidays is freaking hard, and twenty pounds in two months was going to be difficult anyway, but add thanksgiving, christmas, and new years on top of that and I've got a goal that's nearly impossible to achieve!

A good friend gave me some advice that I really needed the other day:  "It is such a mental game in our heads, I did let myself relax for thanksgiving and I ate anything I wanted on Thursday, then today I had the hardest time stopping. Which I didn't, I ate horrible again today. I think that feeling you described in your post of not wanting to do anything we should be doing is the consequence of being dedicated for a long time, then letting our mental game guard down. I am determined to not gain back all that I have lost, so I am going to go to bed, shake this off and wake up in the morning back to my old routine of accomplishing all I can in a day with eating right and exercising. So that's my long version comment to your post. It's ok to have a lazy day, tomorrows a new day"

She's totally right, tomorrow IS a new day. And I just need to take things one day at a time. I'm not going to worry about Christmas or New Years. I'm just going to feel proud of myself for eating right and exercising today and get prepped to do it again tomorrow. When I think about eating paleo from now until January 18th, I get discouraged and feel like I probably wont be able to do it. But I know I can finish today on the paleo diet. And I know I can probably do it again tomorrow. And that's all I need. If I can stay on top of this mental game I know I will be able to reach my goals :) PS: I will be posting "before" pictures soon so you can follow my progress too!

White, wheat, or neither?

Results of the poll:

obviously this wasn't the best simple random sample (I'm taking stats okay?) but I still find the results interesting. I kind of expected the "I prefer wheat bread but I eat both" section to be the biggest, but I was surprised to see that the next largest section is "neither, I don't eat grains at all". WHAT?! I thought I was the only one!! haha, seriously though, maybe more people follow the paleo or primal diets than I thought. Very interesting. I'm glad to see that there were only a few responses for "ew wheat bread is nasty, I eat white".

However, according to research I've gathered from several different sources, wheat bread isn't exactly all its cracked up to be. Gluten, in fact, is considered to be a big offender to health by much of the nutrition/fitness world, not just those who are allergic. And in case you didn't know, there's just as much gluten in wheat bread as there is white. More on this later...

Anyway, thanks for participating! It's always interesting to see what different people believe/practice when it comes to food and health! :)

Peanut Berries

PEANUT BUTTER   +    FROZEN BERRIES =

YUM!!

I know it sounds weird. Just try it. I promise you will not be disappointed....

Tips for Getting Enough Water

JILLIAN SAYS: Water is a vital part of any diet and exercise program — not to mention life in general — because it aids every aspect of bodily function. Water is a huge component of muscle and is important for energy production, so if you want to make the most of your workout, make sure you're well hydrated.

 i like Jillian and I agree with what she says. Water is super important and many of us are making a huge mistake by neglecting it. We often pay more attention to what we eat, how much, and the amount of exercising we're doing than water intake when trying to lose weight, and the reality is that weight loss is impossible without drinking enough water. Water is also essential to simply LIVING WELL.   

At ANASAZI (a wilderness therapy program my family is very involved with) we have this tradition where water fixes pretty much everything. It's like Greek people and Windex. If you are tired, drink more water. If you have a headache, drink more water. If you're confused or can't focus, drink more water! If you break your leg, DRINK MORE WATER! If you're boyfriend dumps you, DRINK MORE WATER! Seriously, water can change everything. But sometimes it's really difficult to remember to drink enough water every day. So here's some of my tried and true tips for getting enough water:



1. Invest in a camelback or some sort of mobile water bladder. This has made the BIGGEST difference for me in getting enough water. I take it everywhere! Seriously I would guess probably 50% of my day is spent with my teeth on my camelback mouthpiece. It is so convenient and easy to get plenty of water this way. Just leave the dang thing in your mouth during class or while you're driving and pretty soon you'll be drinking subconsciously without even knowing it

2. Drink one cup of water right when you wake up and one before you go to bed. That right there knocks out two of your daily eight. Plus starting the day out with a glass of water is one of the best things you can do for your body. If you wanna get crazy with it, try drinking a glass of water before every meal too. If you eat three meals a day that means three more cups of water you don't have to worry about fitting in somewhere. Also your stomach will be more full and you wont eat as much. Its a good idea to have regular times scheduled to drink because then it will become a habit and you will be more likely to remember to do it every day.

3. Don't use a water bottle that requires taking the lid on and off. I used to take water bottles like this to the gym and almost always come home with the bottle still completely full. For one it is super hard to drink out of a bottle with a huge mouth while you're exercising or breathing hard with out spilling all over yourself (unless I'm just really clumsy). Second, it takes like two whole seconds to unscrew the lid, and although that may not seem like much, I promise its enough to keep you from drinking as often as you would if your water bottle required no "unscrewing"...which brings me to my next tip...

4. If you don't use a camelback, find a water bottle you absolutely love that has an easy-to-access mouthpiece, and then NEVER LEAVE THE HOUSE without it. It may take a couple of tries to find one that really fits you. It may be colorful, boring, lightweight or heavy, have a handle or no handle, or whatever you prefer, just make sure it is perfect for you in every way. Because if there's ANYTHING you don't like about it, you will subconsciously be less motivated to take it with you and use it often. It is also very important for the mouthpiece to be super accessible. Whether its a flip-top lid or a straw or one that you squeeze or have to bite the thing for the water to come out, doesn't matter as long as its easy and you enjoy drinking from it.

5. Keep track of how much water you drink. I am too lazy to make a checklist and all that and write down the exact number of ounces I drank each time I reached for my water bottle, but I do keep a pretty good estimation count in my head. If your water bottle holds 20oz then you should probably shoot for like, 3 or 4 or a day. Every time you have to fill it just make a count in your head. My camelback holds 2 L so I fill it in the morning and then again halfway through the day, and try to finish it off by the time I go to bed. (that's a lot btw, but I exercise a lot too)

6. Refill whenever you have a chance, not just when your bottle is empty. I understand this kind of complicates my last tip, but there's no way to drink water if you don't have any! By making sure your bottle is always full, you will never run out and then forget to fill it again until four hours later when you realize you haven't been drinking water that entire time. Besides, after a while you will be so used to drinking water all the time you wont really have to keep track anymore.

7. Remember you don't have to be thirsty yet to need water.  If you're ever "thirsty" that's a pretty good indication that you're not getting enough water on a daily basis. I know that's not really a tip but for some reason it helps me personally to know that.

8. Live by the ANASAZI Rule: whatever the problem is, water will fix it. If you are feeling out of whack in any way, your first method of action should be to drink some water. This applies to all problems: emotional, mental, and physical. Especially if you are hungry or craving juice/soda/milk or whatever, try drinking water first and then re-evaluate. I have found that many times the problem really is capable of being fixed by water alone.


Welp, that's all I've got for you today! If you have any other tips that have helped YOU increase your daily water intake, please comment! I would love to hear what works for you :)

Get creative

Went to the dollar store in search of yarn and knitting needles (mine are at home) to make an infinity scarf. Found the yarn. yay! couldn't find any knitting needles... but I did find a BAMBOO SUSHI ROLLING MAT!!! AT THE DOLLAR STORE of all places!!! yeessssssss!

anyway I'm using my roommate's chopsticks for the time being. Sometimes you just have to get creative :)

Chicken/french onion/italian parmesan egg drop/cheesy vegetable soup

Okay so this weekend I went to Sprouts and bought a bunch of ingredients to make soup... but I hadn't decided what kind of soup I wanted to make yet so I just picked out everything that sounded nice.

I started with vegetables - the whole reason why I wanted to make soup in the first place was to have an easier way to get me veggies throughout the week. I grabbed everything in sight. Then I remembered making egg drop soup in my beginning food prep class at BYU and it was pretty dang good, so I threw some eggs and parmesan cheese in the cart as well. I had also seen a recipe for cheesy broccoli soup that had a lot of cream in it so I snagged a pint of heavy cream off the shelf (I think I was also planning to use that for cheesecake anyway).

Next came the chicken, fiesta cheese, broth, and italian seasoning. Still not sure what I was gonna make with all this but I didn't really care, everything just looked so good!

Anyway I never actually decided which soup to make. Instead I made them all! I just started throwing stuff in the pot and this is how it turned out:

It was SO YUMMY! Seriously like, one of the best tasting soups I've EVER had in my life. Creamy with a hint of italy but warm and comforting like chicken veggie soup.
What's in it, you ask?

(keep in mind these are all approximate measurements)

1cup chopped:
orange pepper
green pepper
broccoli
cauliflower
celery
onions
yellow squash
carrots

1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup shredded fiesta cheese
1/4 cup ground parmesan cheese
1/2 cup almond flour
5 eggs
2 cooked and diced chicken breasts
2 cartons of chicken broth

seasoned to taste with:
parsley
basil
oregano
pepper
salt
garlic
olive oil

I don't know if I'll ever really be able to recreate this thing, but YOU can try!

Directions: Basically you start with a pot of boiling broth and add the salt, pepper, and olive oil, then start putting in veggies in order of crunchiness (ex. carrots and celery first, squash and cauliflower last). You kinda just have to taste the veggies as you go to make sure they are all getting soft at the same time. When they are mostly done, add the cream and fiesta cheese. Then you'll do the egg drop. Make sure the pot is boiling for this part. I took the eggs and beat them together with the parmesan cheese and italian seasonings and then slowly poured the mixture in the pot while stirring. You'll know its done when the eggs float to the top. Finally, add the chicken, almond flour to thicken (that rhymed!), and any other seasonings you still want.

And there you have it! Sorry this recipe is more of a give-or-take, guessing game sorta deal but I wasn't thinking about exactly what I was doing when I was doing it. I was just hoping it wouldn't turn out awful! :) Let's just say I wont be eating out at all this week...

My love affair with Zevia

A poem to express my love

Sweet drinks? no! too much sugar

easy to avoid coke when you are a cougar

but grape soda, creme soda, mountain dew, and root beer - 

those are the drinks I associate with cheer!

Water is good but sometimes it's boring

I want something sweet without fat-storing!

"Diet" sodas are full of toxins

I can't think of anything that rhymes with "toxins"...

When I found Zevia my heart rejoiced!

It's the perfect solution - there's no other choice

With zero net carbs and zero calories,

Its sweetened with stevia - totally naturally!

I love you Zevia and all of your flavors

Cause other sweet drinks wont do my health any favors

You don't make me sick and you don't make me guilty

And most of all you don't make my insides filthy :)

Low-carb Coconut Protein Mug Brownie

-1 egg
-2 Tbs cocoa powder
-1 Tbs organic unsweetened shredded coconut
-1 Tbs whey protein (plain, unsweetened)
-1 Tbs flax seed meal
-1 Tbs truvia baking blend
-1 Tbs olive oil
-1 Tbs water

-1/2tsp vanilla

-dash of salt

mix it all together in a microwave safe mug and nuke it for 2min.

Serves two. Calories 138, protein 8g, carbs 6g, fiber 4g