Clean Eating Club ~ February 2009

jessmomof3

I'm here!! I did my 8 mile run on the TM today... so lots of fuel to make up for now!!!!

Pre-run:
Small banana (90)
Mela Access bar (110) = 200

Post-run:
1/2 c. NF yogurt (70)
1/2 c. frozen berries (35)
1/2 scoop Kashi Vanilla protein powder (55)
1/2 small banana (45) =205

Off to make my oatmeal now!!
Usual oatmeal: (365)

2BLean

Wow! 8 miles Jess .... That's awesome. Today was Burn It Off & ReCharge - I did Extreme Abs in between the two! Felt good. Hope everyone is having a nice weekend. Here is my food for today. A little worried about dinner. We are meeting friends at a Mexican rest. :grumble:

Pre-Workout:
Banana + 1/2 ww Eng Muffin w/ organic PB

Post Workout/A.M. Meal:
3 Egg Whites + 1/2 C. Oatmeal (mixed together and cooked)

Snack a.m:
Almonds + 1/2 Apple

Lunch: Black Bean Burger (no bun) & Fresh Veggies

Snack:
Greek Yogurt w/ Strawberries and tiny bit of Fiber One Cereal on top

Dinner: As healthy as i can find on there menu?!? :bigsmile:

jessmomof3

Wow! 8 miles Jess .... That's awesome. Today was Burn It Off & ReCharge - I did Extreme Abs in between the two! Felt good. Hope everyone is having a nice weekend. Here is my food for today. A little worried about dinner. We are meeting friends at a Mexican rest. :grumble:

Pre-Workout:
Banana + 1/2 ww Eng Muffin w/ organic PB

Post Workout/A.M. Meal:
3 Egg Whites + 1/2 C. Oatmeal (mixed together and cooked)

Snack a.m:
Almonds + 1/2 Apple

Lunch: Black Bean Burger (no bun) & Fresh Veggies

Snack:
Greek Yogurt w/ Strawberries and tiny bit of Fiber One Cereal on top

Dinner: As healthy as i can find on there menu?!? :bigsmile:

Thanks! Mexican can be tough, I try to just say NO to the chips (because I could eat the whole bowl!) and go for a chicken salad w/ LOTS of salsa on top. Refried beans are good, but check to see if they're fried in lard (some of them are!) or black beans. I try to skip the enchiladas or other fried things! Hope you enjoyed yourself!

jessmomof3

Rest of my day....

Lunch:
Whole grain tortilla w/ Laughing Cow Light cheese & Turkey breast
Fuji Apple = 275

Snack:
1/2 c. NF yogurt + 1 T. NM PB + 1/4 c. Nature's Path Pumpkin flax Granola = 225


Dinner: Made homemade fajitas... yummy!!!! I made mine into a salad.
Big salad w/ spinach, broccoli, tri- colored peppers, onions, mushrooms,
lean sirloin & deer steak, 2 T. FF sour cream, 1 T. guacamole, Pace picante (556)

Snack:
SF hot cocoa
1 T. almond butter = 234

Total: 2,026 Big day w/ burning 850 cals this morning. :bigsmile: Still have 395 left but not hungry so I might eat a little more on my day off tomorrow! I need a rest day!

jessmomof3

It's Sunday!! Enjoyed my rest day and slept in til 7:15. :laugh:

Meal #1:
Multi-grain oatmeal + the usual goodies (355)

Meal #2: (leftovers)
Big salad w/ spinach, romaine, onions, mushrooms, tri-colored peppers, lean beef sirloin, 2 T. FF sour cream, Pace picante (342)

2BLean

Happy Sunday! today I did Fat Bun Challenge & I've Got Abs! from ChaLEAN Xtreme. Hadn't tried those yet but they were both great. Played Volleyball this a.m. after that. :happy:

Didn't go to Mexican last night; they cancelled. So I was saved on the food and ended up making the Halibut with Salsa from Chalean Cookbook! Good. So I ended up under my calories.

Today's food:

Pre-Workout:
Banana + 1/2 ww Eng Muffin w/ organic PB

Post Workout/A.M. Meal:
3 Egg Whites + 1/2 C. Oatmeal (mixed together and cooked)

Snack a.m:
Almonds + 1/2 Apple
String Cheese

Lunch:
Lean Gr Turkey w/ Salsa on Wheat Tortilla

Snack:
Fage Yogurt w/ Kashi GoLEAN (1/4 c.)

Dinner:
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad
(fromTosca Clean Eating Cookbook - yum!).

Need to get some more calories ...... any ideas? I'm about 200 under yesterday and today. :huh:

Also, I did get on the scale this a.m. ONLY because my new HRM arrived and I needed to plug in the weight. I have lost 3 lbs. A little bummed with that number but I know something is happening due to measurements. Thoughts/ideas much appreciated!

Have a great evening!

cherapple

I worked out for the first time in two weeks :noway: today! It felt good! For the most part, I could do everything I was able to do before my two weeks of rest, but I did feel a little less strong. That's to be expected, and I'll be stronger again in no time. I'm sure my body benefited from the rest. But I started thinking about back problems, tight clothes, and a body that feels older than its years, and I don't want to go back there again! Time to get back to business. I'm feeling pretty good, except for a little bit of coughing at night still.

Today's exercise: Back, chest, abs, and a 2 mile run on the treadmill.

Food (let me see if I can remember because I didn't record it):

1) Oatmeal, apple, egg white, protein powder, milk, flax
2) Yogurt, cottage cheese, trail mix, banana, coffee and cream
3) Grapes
4) Taco salad with turkey meat, cheese, sour cream, salsa, coffee and cream
5) Potato corn chowder, whole wheat biscuit, milk

I probably did not eat enough today, which is why I felt free to have some cheese and sour cream. :happy: I've pretty much gotten out of the habit of counting calories and recording my foods, but I've been eating clean, and I haven't gained any weight, so I'm not worried!

I hope everyone else is doing well!

cherapple

Happy Sunday! today I did Fat Bun Challenge & I've Got Abs! from ChaLEAN Xtreme. Hadn't tried those yet but they were both great. Played Volleyball this a.m. after that. :happy:

Didn't go to Mexican last night; they cancelled. So I was saved on the food and ended up making the Halibut with Salsa from Chalean Cookbook! Good. So I ended up under my calories.

Today's food:

Pre-Workout:
Banana + 1/2 ww Eng Muffin w/ organic PB

Post Workout/A.M. Meal:
3 Egg Whites + 1/2 C. Oatmeal (mixed together and cooked)

Snack a.m:
Almonds + 1/2 Apple
String Cheese

Lunch:
Lean Gr Turkey w/ Salsa on Wheat Tortilla

Snack:
Fage Yogurt w/ Kashi GoLEAN (1/4 c.)

Dinner:
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad
(fromTosca Clean Eating Cookbook - yum!).

Need to get some more calories ...... any ideas? I'm about 200 under yesterday and today. :huh:

Also, I did get on the scale this a.m. ONLY because my new HRM arrived and I needed to plug in the weight. I have lost 3 lbs. A little bummed with that number but I know something is happening due to measurements. Thoughts/ideas much appreciated!

Have a great evening!

2BLean, my first suggestion if you need more calories would be to eat the whole English muffin and the whole apple :bigsmile: unless you felt like you were completely stuffed afterward.

3 lbs is great, I think! Congrats! :happy:

jessmomof3

Welcome back, Cheryl! I'm sure you will be back stronger than ever after taking some much needed time off! :bigsmile: Great to see you posting again! :flowerforyou:

jessmomof3

Meal #3:
Air-popped popcorn w/ Olivio spray & white cheddar seasoning (162)
1/2 c. NF yogurt (70) + 1 T. NM PB (85) + 1/4 c. Nature's Path Pumpkin Flax Granola (70) = 387

Meal #4:
Low-carb small tortilla (50) + Laughing cow light cheese (35) + lean pork loin (134)
Fuji Apple (80) + 1/2 T. Almond butter (48) = 347

Meal #5:
SF hot cocoa (139)

Total: 1,570 for the day. Rest day, so lower than my usual active day, but still had 30 cals left. :bigsmile:

jessmomof3

2BLean, my first suggestion if you need more calories would be to eat the whole English muffin and the whole apple :bigsmile: unless you felt like you were completely stuffed afterward.

3 lbs is great, I think! Congrats! :happy:

I would say the same thing, just eat a little more of the things you are eating. And yes, 3# is great!! You don't want to lose too much too fast otherwise you're burning muscle.

jessmomof3

Monday Meals....

Pre-workout:
Small banana (90)

Workout:
ChaLean Extreme Lean Circuit #1

Meal #1:
1/4 c. multi grain hot cereal, 1/4 c. old fashioned oatmeal, 1/4 c. Fiber one
1/2 scoop choc. protein powder, 1 T. NM PB, 1/4 c. cottage cheese = (345)

neeterskeeter

Hi everyone. I didn't have Internet access this weekend but I did eat clean and work out, yay. I am just loving this new lifestyle. I feel so much better and confident.

Has anyone had Kashi Go Lean bars? I know they are not completely "clean" but they were on sale at Walgreens for 63 cents each so I bought some for when I'm in a rush. They have 12g of protein and 6g of fiber so I'm thinking they're better than some other bars out there.

Also I'm really loving Nature's Own 100% whole wheat bread... it doesn't have artificial preservatives/HFCS and I can actually find it at pretty much any grocery store.

Otherwise I've been making sure to eat a lot of natural food, especially fruit and veggies. Yesterday before I went to the gym I was going to stop and buy a protein bar. I thought, "no, you can get the same benefits from something natural, which you already have at home!!" So I toasted a piece of bread and added 2 ounces of tuna and some tomato and lettuce. Yay.

2BLean

Hey thanks you guys on thinking that 3lbs was good! That makes me feel better. Don't get me wrong, I am happy with whatever (it could have been zero) and never thought of it that way if it came off too fast I am sacrificing muscle.

Food for today:

Pre Workout:
Banana + 1/2 WW Eng Muffin w/ Organic PB

Post Workout:
3 Egg Whites + 1 Whole Egg w/ Spinach, Red Peppers & Goat Cheese

Snack:
1 Apple (whole) + Almonds
Cottage Cheese (1/2 c)

Lunch:
Turkey, WW Tortilla, Spinach + Laughing Cow

Snack:
Greek yogurt + Kashi GoLEAN cereal on top
Strawberries (2 LRG cut up)

Dinner:
Chicken Breast
Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad

Thanks for your support everyone! It's great to check in with people doing the same things!

jessmomof3

Meal #2:
1.25 cup NF yogurt (175)
1 T. NM PB (85)
1/2 c. Nature's Path Pumpkin Flax Granola (140) = 400

Meal #3:
La Tortilla small low-carb (50)
Laughing Cow Light cheese (35)
Lean pork loin (159)
Fuji Apple (80) = 324

Meal #4:
Salad w/ spinach & romaine, multi colored peppers, onion, mushrooms,
Lean sirloin, 2 T. FF sour cream, Pace picante, boiled egg white (353)

Meal #5:
SF hot cocoa (139)
1/4 c. roasted soynuts (105) = 244

Total: 1,756

candycaneps

I really need to do my clean eating research =D I feel like I should jump on it. Some of the foods ya'll post though don't seem like what I thought "clean" eating was.

cherapple

:flowerforyou: I really need to do my clean eating research =D I feel like I should jump on it. Some of the foods ya'll post though don't seem like what I thought "clean" eating was.

Here's a list that I've been wanting to post for some time -- Tom Venuto's top clean foods and top non-clean foods.

:flowerforyou: Top Foods That Burn Fat
1. Oatmeal
2. Yams and sweet potatoes
3. Potatoes, white or red
4. Brown rice
5. 100% whole wheat and whole grain products
6. Green fibrous vegetables
7. Fresh fruit
8. Skim milk and nonfat dairy products
9. Chicken and turkey breast
10. Egg whites
11. Fish and shellfish
12. Lean red meat

:flowerforyou: Top Foods That Turn to Fat
1. Ice cream
2. Fried foods
3. Donuts and pastries
4. White sugar, candy, chocolate, and sweets
5. Soda
6. Fruit drinks and other sugar sweetened beverages
7. Bacon, sausage
8. White bread
9. Potato chips, nachos, corn chips
10. Hot dogs, fast food burgers
11. Cookies, cakes, pies
12. Sugary breakfast cereals

Does it mean that you can never eat the foods on the second list? No, it's up to each individual person. None of us are claiming to eat perfectly clean all the time. Few people manage that, and only the most dedicated want to. There will likely always be disagreement and controversy about whether certain foods are clean, as well -- such as white potatoes, red meat, artificial and natural sweeteners, chocolate, coffee, black tea, and brand foods in general. You don't have to eat perfectly, though, in order to experience the benefits! :happy: You just need to eat clean 80-90 percent of the time.

cherapple

Bump in the road: I'm doing well with the clean eating (well, mostly! :laugh: ), but I'm having a very hard time making myself exercise, since getting sick gave me an excuse not to. I feel like I've reached the limit with what I can do with my body and I'm discouraged because I don't know what goals to set anymore. I feel like I've run as much as I'm going to be able to run, I've gotten as lean as I'm going to get (21% body fat?), and I've put on as much muscle as I'm going to put on. I guess I thought clean eating was going to be more of a miracle. The physical results and the healthy feeling you get from it ARE amazing, but I'm not looking quite like Tosca Reno :sad: :laugh:.

Since I started concentrating on fitness two and a half years ago, I put clean eating and Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle on pedestals that at first I didn't think I'd ever reach. So now that I have reached them, where do I go? What else is there to strive for? I've only been eating clean for a little over three months, and BFFM I just got a few weeks ago and had barely started the program (and then there's Cathe's STS). Admittedly, I am very weak on the most crucial ingredient according to Tom Venuto -- the goal setting. Am I expecting too much of both the programs and of myself? Is it realistic for most people to try to get into the teens with body fat? With my foot problems and other body issues, I don't think I'll be running any marathons, and even 5Ks are questionable now. Do I really need to be so consumed with my health and my body?... I just can't seem to stay focused and I'm losing sight. :indifferent: :frown:

Jess, you've been doing this for five years. Have you ever experienced this? How do you stay so focused for so long? If anyone has any suggestions or input, I could really use them. I'm afraid I may lose (or give up) everything I've worked so hard to achieve.

jessmomof3

Jess, you've been doing this for five years. Have you ever experienced this? How do you stay so focused for so long? If anyone has any suggestions or input, I could really use them. I'm afraid I may lose (or give up) everything I've worked so hard to achieve.

Hmm... that's a tough one! I often get asked how I'm so motivated, how I stick to it. Honestly, it's just all that I know now. For me, I have pictures to show me what I can go back to (70# heavier... NO thank you!). I have the fear of going back to what I used to be (unhappy, suffering with migraines, no self-confidence). I know how clean eating makes me feel. Eating junk just isn't appealing to me. Am I 100% perfect? Heck no! But I know what works for me. Finding that *key* is awesome! I've been clean eating for a while, but hadn't tracked much until I found MFP. (I had used sparkpeople and fitday on occasion, but hated their databases!) Now with eating clean AND tracking... the last few pounds are really coming off for me! :bigsmile:

Do I have any advice? Be consistent. If you don't want to eat clean all of the time, then figure out what to do. Goals? Well, you are already lean and clean, girl! Sometimes just keeping that up is goal enough! Do what suits your needs and works for you. :flowerforyou:

jessmomof3

I really need to do my clean eating research =D I feel like I should jump on it. Some of the foods ya'll post though don't seem like what I thought "clean" eating was.

Welcome! Just do your best. Don't feel like it's either perfect or terrible. It was a whole change of what I was eating previously and it's taken time to figure out what works for me. It's different for each person! :bigsmile:

jessmomof3

I'm off to the Y for my speedwork run so I'll check back in later!

Pre-run:
Small banana (90)
Mela Access bar (110)

molsongirl

I would love to be able to join this, I love the concept, but it seems like quite the work..can anybody give me an idea on how to begin? I would love to see my kids involved with the clean eating idea, if I can pull them away from there oreos long enough to listen :grumble:

neeterskeeter

How could it be possible that I have *gained* weight, pretty significant weight (almost 5 pounds in a week) when I have been eating clean and working out daily??? I have been doing everything right and feeling great... wouldn't that be reflected on the scale? My body feels like I've been eating good stuff, because I have been, but the scale is showing that I've been binging on junk, which I haven't been!!


:sad:

I'm so frustrated!!! I am of course going to continue my healthy journey but I just wish I could understand the sudden weight *gain* from it. Does anyone have any insight?

cherapple

How could it be possible that I have *gained* weight, pretty significant weight (almost 5 pounds in a week) when I have been eating clean and working out daily??? I have been doing everything right and feeling great... wouldn't that be reflected on the scale? My body feels like I've been eating good stuff, because I have been, but the scale is showing that I've been binging on junk, which I haven't been!!


:sad:

I'm so frustrated!!! I am of course going to continue my healthy journey but I just wish I could understand the sudden weight *gain* from it. Does anyone have any insight?

Muscle gain, PMS, water weight.... What's most important is how you feel, and the fact that you're feeling good. The scale is just a number, and a kind of dumb number at that. :laugh: It doesn't tell you whether your weight changes are caused by muscle, fat, or water. It could just be your body adjusting to the changes. I'd keep doing what you're doing and wait a week to see what happens over a longer time period. The long term is what matters, so don't get worked up over what happens in the short term. You know you're doing everything you should, so what can you see over the long term but improvements?

Hang in there! You're not alone in frustration. :grumble:

neeterskeeter

Thanks a lot cherapple. I don't mean to sound stupid but can people really "gain" muscle weight? I thought muscle and fat weighed the same, it was just a matter of muscle distributing itself better than fat and the body burning calories better when it had more muscle.

But I could see how, in doing this Making the Cut exercise for the past almost month, I would have "gained" some muscle and thus some weight. If that's possible then I think that *would* be the issue -- and I think I can balance it by adding back in more cardio.

The strange thing is, my scale measures body fat too and it says mine went *up* by a percentage and a half. I would think that if I was gaining muscle and eating well, I'd be losing fat, not gaining. It boggles my mind! Thanks for the support.

neeterskeeter

I'm going to try to start posting what I eat. Feel free to give me suggestions for improvement!

Breakfast (6am):

1 cup Kashi Go Lean cereal
1/2 cup 1% milk
25 blueberries
(I usually add 1/2 scoop of whey protein to this but I was in a rush this AM)

Exercise (6:30am):

2 mile run outside, 22 minutes
(I am also going to the gym after work)

Snack (8:30 am):
1 piece whole wheat stone ground natural bread
6 slices turkey breast lunchmeat
1 oz. part skim mozzarella cheese

Lunch (12 pm):
(I will be eating this right now...)
We are having a meeting at work and I ordered a chicken salad from a local deli which consists of:
Grilled Chicken breast
Belgian endive
Blue cheese
Green apple
Grape tomato
Arugula
Light buttermilk dressing

I'm going to eat half of that, I think, and save the rest for later, and I'm also going to eat strawberries and grapes that I brought from home.

2BLean

Sorry. i copied it twice. :ohwell:

2BLean

Bump in the road: I'm doing well with the clean eating (well, mostly! :laugh: ), but I'm having a very hard time making myself exercise, since getting sick gave me an excuse not to. I feel like I've reached the limit with what I can do with my body and I'm discouraged because I don't know what goals to set anymore. I feel like I've run as much as I'm going to be able to run, I've gotten as lean as I'm going to get (21% body fat?), and I've put on as much muscle as I'm going to put on. I guess I thought clean eating was going to be more of a miracle. The physical results and the healthy feeling you get from it ARE amazing, but I'm not looking quite like Tosca Reno :sad: :laugh:.

Since I started concentrating on fitness two and a half years ago, I put clean eating and Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle on pedestals that at first I didn't think I'd ever reach. So now that I have reached them, where do I go? What else is there to strive for? I've only been eating clean for a little over three months, and BFFM I just got a few weeks ago and had barely started the program (and then there's Cathe's STS). Admittedly, I am very weak on the most crucial ingredient according to Tom Venuto -- the goal setting. Am I expecting too much of both the programs and of myself? Is it realistic for most people to try to get into the teens with body fat? With my foot problems and other body issues, I don't think I'll be running any marathons, and even 5Ks are questionable now. Do I really need to be so consumed with my health and my body?... I just can't seem to stay focused and I'm losing sight. :indifferent: :frown:

2BLean

Cheryl - I think your concerns and frustration are very understandable! I’ve been there myself and have sometimes wondered why I am so consumed when I don’t see the results I want to see. First as an outsider not knowing you I would absolutely say that your knowledge and efforts just from what I have read is great ~ that in itself is a huge accomplishment that you would acquire and put forth the effort. Also, being a runner and Cathe STS (I’m familiar with but haven’t tried that one .. yet!) is a great physical accomplishment. My thoughts go to my own personal experience of being maybe a little burned out on whatever program I am doing. There have been times where I wonder if it is worth all the efforts and I just exercise and go through the motions but not really excited about it, hence potentially sabotage myself with my attitude at that time. Through those times I continue to keep on keeping on and try to eat right so that everything doesn’t feel like a struggle all at once. Maybe you are simply feeling a bit burned out? Trying something completely different – even if it is one day or one piece of your workout to change things up a bit?!? I am not sure but I understand your feeling absolutely. How I stay focused is minimizing it or breaking it down to day-by-day and knowing I will feel WAY worse if I go off course and too far off course could be really hard to start again. I don’t know if this helps at all but I commend you on reaching out and your efforts day-to-day! :flowerforyou:

jessmomof3

Hey CE'ers!! Busy day here!! I'll try to catch up now!

Pre-run:
banana (90)
Mela Access bar (110) = 200

Workout:
4 mile speedwork run

Meal #1:
Multi Grain oatmeal breakfast (375)

Meal #2:
Chobani Greek Vanilla yogurt
Cottage cheese
Fuji Apple
.5 oz mixed nuts = (375)

Meal #3:
La Tortilla low-carb tortilla
Laughing cow light cheese
2oz tuna in water
Hard boiled egg = (170)

Meal #4:
1/2 c. NF yogurt
1 T. NM PB
1/4 c. Nature's Path Pumpkin Flax Granola = (225)

Meal #5:
Chicken breast
Baked sweet potato topped w/ 1/4 c. cottage cheese + cinnamon = (350)

SF hot cocoa = (139)

Total: 1,836