The People Around You

The excitement I felt when I jumped off of the scale yesterday was GLORIOUS! I have lost 3.6 lbs! Some people are giving me the 'Who-gives-a-crap" face but I was the happiest person on the planet! I ran straight into my room and jumped on the bed where my boyfriend was laying to tell him the good news. He was just as excited as I was and told me that I was working really hard for this. Heck yes I am!

Then 5 minutes later he told me that we were going to DQ for lunch.....

UGH! The people around you are who influence you, cheer you on, pick you up from the ground, pat you on the back, etc! I felt like he was tearing me down and making my diet harder! I made a smoothie and took it with me into DQ instead of eating the food that I would have once eaten too much of. I watched the guys scarf down on some deliciously crunchy looking chicken strips and a piece of buttery toast.. Hearing that sentence was torture.. right? I found myself not caring and not thinking that at all! My smoothie tasted good and I had just discovered my weight loss from all of my hard work! I'm not giving that up now!

I could roll my eyes at my boyfriend every time he wants to eat out, but is it really worth it? My goal recently has been to find the silver lining in all situations. Example, you get toilet paper stuck in your pants at the public restroom, mortifying, BUT you made someone else laugh for the day! And maybe they were having a horrible day and just needed God to give them a reason to laugh. You were God's reason, which is pretty incredible if you ask me! SILVER LINING PEOPLE! 

My silver lining to my boyfriend loving to eat out is that he is teaching me to have self control and discipline over my own diet. He feeds me temptation after temptation so that I learn to shut them down. Not only do I learn the self control but I learn what to do in those tricky situations. Examples:

1. If you feel like you HAVE to order something ask the waiter for a piece of grilled chicken. Name one place that doesn't have a good grilled chicken. Dip it in your sauce of choice, it wont kill you.

2. Make something small before you leave, such as a smoothie. The group/person you are with can wait 5 minutes for you to have a small meal before they leave.

3. Just order a water or an iced tea and sit and enjoy with your group/person. Just beware of what they have ordered. Avoid staring at their french fries or fried foods that are bad for you! Think of what your big goal is to help you out!

4. Order a house salad. The perfect sized salad that for some reason always tastes better when it is made for you in a restaurant.

I can actually say that I have been on a diet for 10 days now and my life has changed for the better. The amount of energy that I have gained from eating more fruits and veggies and watching my portions is unreal. I have yet to even start doing any physical activity and have still lost 3.6 lbs! I like picking out healthy foods and giving people tips. Diets can be fun if you want them to!

Thank you everyone who has been reading my blog and I hope it inspires you each and every day. I should make a note that if I ever say things about my boyfriend, family, or friends in here it is NEVER in a bad way. They are my people, and everyone needs people. I love my people!

Reminder: If you don't change your ways, you will never change. 

My gorgeous cousin Krysti and I met up and took a picture at the Miranda Lambert concert in KC!

Sweet and Spicy Chicken Recipe

1 4oz Chicken Breast

1 cup salsa (low sodium)

2 Tbsp Fat Free Sour Cream

Olive Oil

Marinate your chicken breast in all of the salsa but 2 Tbsp in the fridge for at least 3 hours. After finished marinating cook the marinated breast in olive oil in a skillet, until done. After chicken is cooked all the way through add 2 Tbsp of sour cream and 2 Tbsp of salsa to the top and enjoy! 

***This can be sweet or spicy depending on your choice of salsa.

Audrey's "Everything But The Core" Smoothie

Each morning I wake up excited to start my day with a healthy balanced meal. Two weeks ago the girls would ask me to make them a healthy smoothie and I would stand there puzzled and tell them to wait until mom got home because I wasnt good at it. Now, I love making them and want one for every meal! 

The smoothie that I will feature in today's post is going to be called Audrey's Everything But The Core Smoothie. This smoothie has peaches, mangos, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries & the juice from them, pineapple, coconut milk, and flax seed. Simple, simple smoothie to make and easy to clean up too. I call it everything but the core because I would throw any fruit in this smoothie and it will still be incredible, minus the core of the fruit. The kids beg and beg for extra sugar in their smoothies but I have to explain to them that fruit has a lot of natural sugars in it. 

Audrey's Everything But The Core Smoothie

1 Peeled Peach

1/4 Peeled Mango

Handful of Blueberries

4 Large Blackberries-fresh or frozen

6 Medium Strawberries-fresh or frozen

6 Chunks Frozen Pineapple

Cover 1/3 of fruit in coconut milk

1 tsp flax seed

I cut up all of the fruit and put it in first. Then I run hot water over the raspberries to help them thaw quicker and dump some of their juice on top of the smoothie, this only makes it a little sweeter and more sour. I then dump the milk on and cover the fruit in the blender about 1/3 of the way. Last, I sprinkle the tsp of flax seed on top and blend! Generally to add more nutrients to the smoothie I would throw leaves of spinach in because you can't taste them and they have a ton of health benefits! 

Hint: I was recently taught by a 9 year old to put soapy water in your blender when you are finished and blend while the water and soap are in it to clean the blender. GENIUS! Makes cleaning your blender almost seem like fun.