FOCUSING ON FUEL

 So here we go with all those posts I wanted to share :)

I loved working out with bodyrock.tv since the beginning, and I always took it seriously. But lately I am even more serious about fitness and health. It is not just about exercising for me, I managed to make a major changes in my eating habits. And I wanna keep eating like that for as long as possible. It was hard for me to eat well while cooking something else for my husband, he was not interested in eating well. Some people thinks that DIET means NOT TASTY or NOT EATING AT ALL. But all those meals I prepare for myself are so delicious! I follow a lot of recipes from Bodyrock website (just made a Ginger Carrot Chicken soup for todays lunch and Banana Nut Cake - delicous!!!), and I live to experiment :) I never used any spices, just salt and pepper, but lately I really like to try new spice combos. I also decided to grow my own herbs, already bought the seeds of Basil, Parsley, Thyme, Lemon Balm and Majoram. I hope they will live, I am not very good with plants :D I often forget to water them, but they still live. Only one Yuca I had died... :(  So I will try this and use fresh herbs to my meals.

I also made some food rules for myself :) I love Michael Pollan's book In defense of food (Zuzana recommended it on her site and I really like it) and I bought Eater's Manual with it, which is a funny little book that describes "rules" and recommendations for eaters. For example "Never eat a cereal that changes a color of a milk," and stuff like that. :) I removed all processed foods from my kitchen and I only keep fresh stuff in my fridge. It is full of veggies, fruits, meat, fish, frozen veggies and berries, eggs. I stopped eating dairy products, I only use regular milk to make my oatmeal in the morning, and occasionally I use milk while cooking (like yesterday when I made that soup). I eat 5 times a day, breakfast, snack, lunch, evening snack and dinner, and I am never hungry this way. I decided to eat fish and chicken at least once a week, and also eat more legumes (I love prepairing beans with cherry tomatoes and onions with one spoon of olive oil, yumm.) I also love reading Jos's blog, she is a bodyrocker as well and has some amazing recipes on her site, I will do a roasted curry cauliflower this weekend :P I am saving so much money, I always though (and a lot of people do) that eating healthy is expensive, but it truly isn't! I though it is gonna be hard for me to pay everything myself, the apartment payments, food... but it is great. I don't spend that much when I am alone, I don't need 2 shower gels but only one, I need just one shampoo, less of everything :) I don't buy coffee cause I don't drink it, I don't buy sugar, cause I don't use it (okay, I have some at home for visitors). I only drink water and tea, so no sodas for me :) No chocolates, no candy, no biscuits :) I loved buying these things for my husband, cause he loved it and I was always happy that he is happy. Haha, but no more crap food in my house! From time to time I bake Zuzana's home made granola, but I bake it as cookies, so I can easily grab one when I need it :) and that Banana Nut Cake I made yesterday was really something. It shows that you can still satisfy your sweet tooth without getting fat (unless you eat the whole thing at once, haha.)

I am still looking for a flaxseed oil, and they just don't sell it in any store here, so I have to order it online.

Also, I bought a blender! It just arrived yesterday and I already used it to mix nuts and oats for a cake, to puree the soup and this morning I made my first Healthy Smoothie :) I was inspired by this recipe, but I couldn't find kale in the store here, so I replaced it with iceberg salad. I used one kiwi, one banana, 3 salad leaves, 3 handfuls of baby spinach leaves, one handful of frozen blueberries and 2 cups of cold water. It is not really green, it is purple as a blueberry :D but it was sooooo delicious, and I still have one portion left in the fridge for tomorrow. I will make these smoothies, they are fun and healthy :D I still need that flaxseed oil to make it even better :)

This week it is all about NO SUGAR in Bodyrock Diet Challenge. I am doing well so far, 3rd day on this, I have 2 chocolates in my fridge, but I didn't touch them. I have another one in my drawer at work, but it is still unopened :D I don't have that many real cravings, but it is psychological for sure. Your body wants something you are forbidden to have, even if you don't crave it :D

Lately I ate TONS of potato chips, so I am gonna avoid these for a long time now. I prefer salty snacks over sweet snacks (well, I can easily eat both, but if I have to choose between chocolate and potato chips, I will grab the chips.). I need to find some healty option for these salty treats :) I regret it everytime I eat the pack, boooo :( No more chips or popcorns! :D

I think I am doing great in my eating plan, and I wouldn't call it "diet," I prefer calling it "lifestyle." For some people it may sound like obsession, mania, lunacy, or something like that, but I am really happy the way I eat now. I am never hungry, I am never tired (I used to overeat and then I was not able to move all afternoon), I feel lighter and I am looking forward too see physical changes as well. Mentaly I am completely new person, so different from what I used to be 8 months ago. My life is important to me now, more than ever. And I am gonna treat myself and my body the best I can, cause it is the only body I will ever have (unless my sci-fi fantasies will come true, lol).