Becca and I have both lost a lot of weight and gained muscle but our approach to food is different.  The most important thing is you listen to your body and ask God to help you crave things that will benefit you and not harm you.  I hope this helps you find some tricks to incorporate into your diet!

Ok, I love food, I’m hungry often and I hate to be hungry so this is my tricks to be satisfied, feel my best, and keep me from junk food! I try to get protein, a healthy carb, and lots of vegetables at almost every meal. 

So here it goes!

4:45am Depending on what I ate the day before and what we are doing at the gym I will sometimes grab a 1/2 of a protein bar (like a Luna or Cliff bar) to give me some fuel at the gym.

7:00am  I love breakfast and go to bed dreaming about it, weird I know.  Sometimes it’s egg whites and oatmeal but right now I’m in love with 1 cup of plain Greek yogurt (not that sugar loaded stuff), mixed with 1Tbl Chia seeds, whatever fruit I have on hand, my favorite is bananas or strawberries (nothing fresh = frozen blueberries), then a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of Kashi Go Lean crunch, or Fiber One!!

10am I don’t leave the house without snacks and I love Fiber One and an apple in case I’m hungry.  So sometimes I have this and sometimes I don’t.  Listen to your hunger

12pm Lunch sometimes happens at 11am ( I told you I’m hungry!)  It’s always leftovers- always a clean protein (homemade turkey burger, chicken, salmon), a healthy carb (brown rice, sweet potato, Quinoa), and lots of veggies that are either cooked or in a salad!

1:00pm I don’t have this in the picture but after lunch I want something sweet and I’m tired so my favorite thing to make up is a cup or two of Chai Green Tea (I just boil water and throw in tea bags) it’s the perfect afternoon pick me up!  This is a dangerous time of day because if you are tired your body naturally craves sugar for energy so if the tea doesn’t help then I move on to veggies!

2:00-5:00pm I munch on raw veggies all afternoon and I use a little Bolthouse Ranch dressing and this keeps me from eating dinner while I cook it and it fills me up so I don’t go crazy at dinner!

5:30-6:00pm Same as lunch, we have clean protein, veggies all different ways, and a healthy carb.  We will post lots of our favorite meals for you guys to enjoy!

7:00pm I have a sweet tooth and if I don’t have a little something then I’m depriving myself and I go crazy, so again BALANCE!  I make a cottage cheese dip with apples that I love, don’t worry I blend it in the blender and it’s smooth and creamy (I promise to post the recipe) or I will have just a couple almonds and dark chocolate chips if I’m craving something sweet and salty.

Wow, I eat a lot but it has gotten me to where I am today!  My rules are I stay away from too much processed food, no trigger foods in the house (things that cause me to eat way too much, example: hummus, technically healthy- but who can eat 2 Tbl. of that stuff, not me).  I drink tons of water, I have a 32 gallon jug that I try to fill 3 times, I also pee a lot Lastly, I stay away from sugar I’ve loved it too much, for too long so I broke up with it! Every once in a while I do have sugar but in very small doses and I treat it with CAUTION!

I have come such a long way with my food issues (I’ll forever be a work in progress) but the most important thing to me is balance!  If I’m hungry I eat and some days that means I eat A LOT but I know the next day I probably won’t be as hungry and I’m not going to be crazy about it.  God wants us to trust Him in this and not make ourselves crazy.

“For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  Matthew 11:30

When you trust God the burden is light, and if you are still stressing, depriving, bingeing, ask yourself this –

Are you really trusting God?

With Love, Shannon