The D14 Day 4

Day 4 done and in the books!

It was a busy but good day! Woke up again to a decrease of pounds on the scale! I'm really happy!! 

Today was my son's birthday party so breakfast was a Vanilla Complete shake with some added fruit and ice with almond milk.

I had coffee again on the way to the party and then just water. I did not have any pizza or cake at the party! Whoop! Needless to say by the time I get home I was starving! I threw some Chocolate Complete in a shaker bottle with 10 ounces of almond milk and drank that while my son opened presents.

Since this weekend was busy I haven't done a grocery shop yet so we decided it was out to dinner we go. 

My son chose Jakes Wayback Burgers so I ordered a side salad and a grilled chicken sandwich and only at the chicken. 

The salad came with some cheese on top and croutons - I picked off the croutons but did eat the cheese.

So, overall a great day! I didn't unfortunately drink the detox drink but plan to before bed actually.

Looking forward to see what the rest of the week holds - good night!

~Carly

The D14 Day 3

Good evening! 

I saw some more movement in the right direction on the scale this morning! Very happy and excited about that for sure! I'm also feeling really GOOD considering this is a "detox" and a nutritional rebalancing. 

So today went like this:

Woke up around 6:30 and drank water and a small cup of coffee (note: it's recommended to cut out caffeine during this program for maximum benefit but it's just simply something I don't do 100% on my journey)

7:30 am - I made a chocolate Complete shake in a shaker bottle with 10 ounces of unsweetened vanilla almond milk. Normally I would have used a blender and blended up a shake and added some goodness to it but my son had his first morning of basketball.

11:45 am- I drank my D14 detox drink before having some left over Quinoa bean veggie soup and a small piece of very dark chocolate 

3:30 pm- I snacked on some fruit after going to Target with the family and later had a cup of herbal decaf tea

5:30 detox drink before dinner and a large green salad with fresh diced peppers, red onion, roasted pepper with grilled chicken on top and balsamic dressing

Yummmm!

So Day 3 is in the books and I can't wait to keep going!!

Tomorrow will be a challenge as it is my son's 6th birthday party tomorrow and unusually sneak some frosting or a bite of cake every now and again...fingers crossed I will resist!

~Carly

The D14 Day 2

Good afternoon!

It's day 2 of my detox/reboot and I'm feeling really great!

Thankfully my sinus/headache thing has seemingly gone away - hopefully for good! I woke up to a lot less bloating and one pound lighter! That's after ONE day so I'm very optimistic for the next 13!

So full disclosure as always - I'm up a few pounds in general from Thanksgiving and such but not a lot and definitely not currently at my lowest weight. I have been maintaining and bouncing with the same 3-4 pounds. That's where I'm expecting this D14 to help me bust through my rut/plateau. 

Back to today...After I had my JP+ Complete shake for breakfast and capsules, I put the kids on the bus and went for a 3 mile walk this morning with a good friend and our dogs. 

For lunch I had my Quinoa Bean Veggie soup and an apple also with the detox drink that is suggested in the D14 program.  I'm pretty full right now!

Since it's chilly today,  I'm sipping on some tea while typing this and for dinner I plan to have a large salad with grilled chicken on top.

 

So, cheers to the weekend and plan to update you over the weekend. If not early next week!

~Carly

The D14 Day One

Good morning!

Despite having a sinus/headache thing going on for the last week or so I am feeling pretty awesome this morning.

I'm starting a detox/jumpstart program called The D14 which is a 14 day program that helps get the body detoxified, proper digestion going and a general "tune up" of how your body was designed to metabolize food and generally function. 

Before you get skeptical of the word detox - stop! This program is designed not to be harsh or unpleasant and you eat FOOD. Yes, real nourishment for your body to flush the toxins out - which means a less bloated you! 

Since it is a detox, you do need to refrain from eating a few things. But, before I lose you again it's only 14 days.  the program was created by Courtney O'Donnell - she's a mother of five, a personal trainer and a director at the Juice Plus company.  All the details are provided to you when you commit to the program

I'm still following my Trim Healthy Mama principles alongside the D14 - I'm coming up on two years on that lifestyle, too!

So, here I go...if you're interested in the program feel free to email me directly at carlykirsch@gmail.com.

~Carly

Other Ways To Promote Health

Exercise more. Eat less processed foods. Get enough sleep. Drinking more water. Stay away from sugar. More vegetables and greens (which I have a secret to easily get more of!). Do this...don't do that...

The list goes on. And on...

So, aside from the obvious things what else can you do to promote health and overall wellness? Today, I'm going to share with you two things I do every day for me and my family.

1. Essential Oils

A few years ago I started using a few oils - lemon and lavender. I made a homemade lemon coconut oil body cream recipe. Then about two years ago I bought a diffuser (finally) with the intention of buying more oils but never did. It was just only recently (about two months ago) I decided to finally get more and dive into using them on a daily basis. After lots of research, I ordered quite a bit from Plant Therapy, one blend from DoTerra and some from a local health food store in town.

Here's my Plant Therapy order:

They have a line of kid safe oils and blends that I love so far. 

I now have two diffusers - one is a Zaq brand I got from an online store and the other is the one pictured above. I use the diffuser every day - especially now that it's getting colder and germs are everywhere! I diffuse energizing blends and calming blends based on my day and the germ destroyer kids blend is usually going in the afternoons. I am really enjoying them and seeing some definite benefits from using them so far. 

2. Juice Plus+

I only recently heard of Juice Plus. But from the moment it was mentioned to me I was hooked. It's SO simple and I'm actually shocked I hadn't heard of it before! I'm always reading and learning about health, wellness and nutrition and have never come across it. I actually learned about it initially from someone at my dentist's office because Juice Plus was studied and published in a medical journal (it's actually one of the only studied and researched of its kind!) that links the importance of nutrition to dental health - among other things.  I'm very inspired by this company and their mission for health for many decades now. 

Juice Plus Products - Complete, capsules, chews and bars

That's my little secret.  For a few weeks now, I have been taking their "trio" Vineyard blend, Garden and Fruit Blend and I just ordered their Complete shake mix.  It's gluten and dairy free and it is delicious!  I use it to promote health personally and my kids are taking the gummy version which I actually get for basically free through their Children's Health Study. 

They are a great company and I'm actually joining them on my own personal health mission to spread the goodness. If you want to learn more you can click on the Juice Plus links and it will take you to my web site to learn about the products as well as order. 

Ok...So what exactly is Juice Plus? It's FOOD.  Not a supplement!

Juice Plus+ is whole food based nutrition, including juice powder concentrates from 30 different fruits, vegetables and grains. Juice Plus+ helps bridge the gap between what you should eat and what you do eat every day. Not a multivitamin, medicine, treatment or cure for any disease, Juice Plus+ is made from quality ingredients carefully monitored from farm to capsule to provide natural nutrients your body needs to be at its best.

It actually has a nutrition label!  No additives, non-GMO and just good nutrition to help keep us healthy every day in a truly simple way.

I'll be sharing with you more about Juice Plus in the coming weeks...so stay tuned!

Those are just two things I do to promote health other than the obvious advice we all hear over and over.

What are some things you do to promote health?

Feel free to email or comment with any questions...anytime!
~Carly
 

Recipe: Hearty Chili - E

Good morning! It's a rainy Wednesday here. I'm sipping my coffee and decided I needed to share a recipe I've been making for some time now. Since it is getting cooler here, For the past few I've been naturally craving heavier comfort foods like stews, soups and chili. 

Enter my concoction of chili - full of whole foods rich with texture and flavor.

This is considered an E meal for those following the Trim Healthy Mama Plan.

Hearty Chili 

Ingredients:

1-2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 tablespoon of minced garlic 

1 medium yellow onion roughly diced

1 package of ground turkey, chicken or (browned and rinsed) lean ground beef

1 can of black beans drained and rinsed

2-3 medium sweet potatoes pre-cooked and cut into cubes

1 box Pomi chopped tomatoes

1/2 cup quinoa (cooked separately)

1 can of diced chiles

2 tablespoons of chili seasoning

2 tablespoons of cumin

1 cup (or more for more or less liquid) of chicken or vegetable stock 

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a larger stock pot add the olive oil to heat. Add garlic and simmer for a minute. Grab a second soup pot and begin to cook quinoa per the directions on the package. Then, in chili pot and onion and cook until softened.

2. Add ground meat of choice. Once browned add cumin and chili and stir well.

3. Add the tomatoes, diced chiles, broth and beans and stir to combine. Simmer for about 10 minutes.

4. Add cooked cubed sweet potatoes and quinoa. At this time you can also add more broth to increase liquid.

5. Simmer on low for as long as you'd like - I do another 15 minutes or so.

It's really delicious and hearty without being heavy. You can top it with a sprinkle of shredded cheese as added fat if you're following THM. If you aren't, feel free to add sliced avocado, sour cream or a side of tortilla chips - the choice is yours!

I shared this recipe with a few friends now and it's gotten great reviews! 

Enjoy and as always comment if you decide to make it!

~Carly

Motivate Me Monday - 11/9/2015

Happy Monday! October just flew by and now November is almost at the halfway point! 

Came across this yesterday and while we all know these things it's truly true that smaller changes add up to big differences. 

I'm a sucker for a good visual - so I leave you with this one :)

Will be posting again soon with some other things I've been up to and that have been on my mind. 

I'm also approaching my 2 year anniversary on Trim Healthy Mama! Woohoo!

~Carly