Transitioning To Veganism

If you missed my last post about WHY i decided to go Vegan,

you can find that HERE <------ nbsp="">

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I AM GOING VEGAN!

This post is about my diet change and me going Vegan.

If you are strongly opposed to Veganism, exit this post now :)

Look at Veganism with an open mind, an open heart to the animals, and the FACTS.

YOU came to this post on your own free will....

opposing opinions not welcome.

I am doing my research on my own. But thanks anyway :))

Moving on.

I came across a youtube channel by a girl who goes by the name "Freelee the Banana Girl".

Her way of life just made SENSE to me.

The animal cruelly was just too much to bare. 

I IMMEDIATELY made the decision to switch.

Watch the video for full explanation!

This is my 3 day transformation of cutting out dairy and going 80% meatless.
HUGE difference. I felt less bloated and nasty!

My next video will be about my actual transition.

My struggles.

And my advice on where to start :)

I truly hope you decide to make the switch!

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If you aren't convinced, watch this video!

its long. but watch the WHOLE thing when you have a chance!

IF ITS NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOUR EYES,

WHY IS IT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOUR MOUTH TO EAT??

HERES SHORTER ONES

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Meal Planning and Meal Prep

Meal prepping is a great way to keep your good diet on track!

I actually tried it for the first time about a month ago!

I never knew where to start. So i just went with the basics.

For this post ill just give you guys my basic grocery list!

Meal Prep Grocery List:

• Tupperware (got mine by the lunch boxes at warlmart
• Chicken (lean meat)
• Broccoli
• Peppers (green, red, yellow or all)

Sunday is always my meal pre day.

So i shop on Saturday, then cook everything on Sunday!

Pack it all in your tupperware, and you're set for the week!

I cook my chicken with a little lemon herb, then add a little sea salt for flavor when i eat my meal!

Another part of meal prepping that i recommend is getting ingredients for green smoothies for snacks when you get hungry!

My basic ingredients for green smoothies are:

• Spinach
• Bag of frozen mixed fruit (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries)
• Bananas

I always have milk and water on hand.

Some recipes call for coconut milk/water, but you can always substitute for regular stuff!

Follow me on instagram for recipes!

@ChristaCox3

Be sure to check out Holly's post on meal prepping!

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Motivation Mondays {Thyroid Update}

(Motivation Mondays} Week 11, WEIGHT Disclosure

I asked you guys last week to guess my weight..

The average was 150 ish

Jean size 7-9

NOW I WILL TELL YOU!

{Turn music off at bottom of page}

Shrinking and Toning.

11 weeks.

13 pounds down (1-2 pounds per week is healthy)

2 inches in waist

3 inches in belly

Take that haters!

My diet is fine.
Thanks hunnie :)
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Could ya?

Click on the ^^^ then click the LEFT bubble.
THATS IT!

Thanks for all the support guys :)

Motivation Mondays {Week 7 Shrinkage}

AHHHHHHHH guys i am SOOOO done with this plateau! 3 weeks now! Ruled out my thyroid being the cause, and MOST LIKELY ruled out pregnancy. Had blood work done and it was negative. So im either not prego or it was still too soon to tell. I have been having so many prego symptoms though its frustrating.

Ive slowed down on the insanity and am trying other things to try to break my plateau but nothing is working. WAAAA! Anywho... sorry

this is MOTIVATION mondays, knock it off Christa!

Lets get to this :)

This is ONLY a 5 pound difference.

DONT get discouraged about small weight loss. Focus on how you FEEL, how your clothes FIT. Measure your inches. TAKE PICTURES! I havent lost inches but i can SEE the difference. Im toning more. I can see all the changes and i think that is what makes this plateau worth fighting through :)

This week i am talking about LITTLE TIPS for not so active people or people who DESPISE working out

Here they are:

• MAKE reasons to use the stairs: Whe you are out and about, take the stairs rather than the elevator. When you are home, PURPOSELY leave things upstairs so that you have to go up those dang stairs more often!
• Tip Toe it out! When you are brushing your teeth, stand on your tippy toes. Work those  sexy calves! When making a sandwhich, tip toe it out! You get the point.
• Lunge to your destination! A friend of mine told me about how when she used to work grave yards she had like NO time to work out cuz she was sleeping and taking care of you kids during the day, then worked at night. So at work she would walk around doing lunges. Helped keep her awake and also kept her legs and abs working hard! :). So anytime you walk across the room for something, do some lunges!
• Do some sit ups and push ups before bed! Make it a habit, you'll see a difference for sure.

Diet tips!

• Buy WHEAT bread instead of WHITE: White bread is SOOOO bad for you! And wheat bread really isnt bad. I actually prefer wheat bread and only give my daughter wheat bread. If you dont like the taste, you will adapt, trust me.
• Use SEA salt instead of regular: Sea salt is so much better for you!
• Use MARGARINE instead of real BUTTER: Ive never liked real butter. I feel like im eating straight up LARD. ew. "I cant believe its not butter" even has a light version.
• Drink WATER instead of JUICE or soda! Soda is nothing but EMPTY calories that do NOTHING for you. Even juice isnt that great. Eat an actual apple instead of apple juice. Juice is full of preservatives and extra sugars and chemicals. Even if it says 100% juice. Look at the label. Does it EVER say "Ingredients: Water & apples." No.. there is a lot of extra JUNK!

Well i think you get the point.

These SMALL changes make a HUGE difference.

Now for my shrink video haha. 

Motivation Mondays {Week 6 shrinkage}

Nutrition Tip:
Power pack regular meals and even cheat meals with veggies!

Tacos on wheat tortillas :)

Get Fit {Week 4} MOTIVATION

I didnt want to do a blog post...

so my motivation speech is in the vlog....

One week of INSANITY

If you dont care for the speech, skip to the end for body update

How I Lost 5 pounds in 2 weeks VLOG!

We are BAAAACK from our week long vacation!

I am sad but at the same time happy to be back in my own home and own bed with REGULAR food haha.

So make sure to be checking my blog for the next week or so for all my post, MILLIONS of amazing pictures and videos!

In the mean time... enjoy my fitness vlog that was SUPPOSED to go with my post last saturday 

where i yell at you all :)

And also, i will be doing another fitness update/motivation post this saturday! 

yay!!

TURN OFF MUSIC AT BOTTOM

And seriously....
check out them biceps at the end of the vid.
BOOOOYA!

MAN i have A LOT of blogging catching up to do from all the lovely blogs i follow.

So be ready for me to stalk you ;)

Oh and make sure you subscribe to my youtube channel!
Found --> hErE<----

I HAVE BIG NEWS!!!!

Are you ready for it??

Are you sure!?

K well here it comes!!

So i hope this news isnt a disappointment to those of you who are thinking this is a "IM PREGNANT!" post cuz its not. Its even better! Haha ok so myabe not BETTER but, with this big news we can consider baby news. Anywho.. k here it is.

For the first time in 9 FREAKING MONTHS............

MY THYROID LEVEL IS NORMAL!!

HALLE-freaking-LUJAH !

Im trying not to get my hopes up cuz i have an auto immune thyroid disorder so basically my body can decide to destroy my thyroid some more at any time. BOO.

I guess HERE is where i will start my weight loss journey.

I know ive already come a long way sense ive had Braylee but im still 30 pounds over weight and that is NOT ok. I dont feel like myself and i will not settle for less.

I just want to be healthy.

not skinny. HEALTHY!

and comfortable in my own skin!

But along the baby note.

Braylee is almost 2 1/2 years old. So age spacing wise, we are in the clear for me to get pregnant. But i always said i want my thyroid under control before i get pregnant. And now it is... so i guess we are in the clear there too.....

BUT. I dont feel ready yet. I want my thyroid to be under control for a few months.

Im scared of loosing another baby. 

My Endocrinologist said that by getting pregnant my thyroid will go out of control again and ill need to go in like every 2 weeks to get my levels monitored but if my thyroid is too high or too low, my baby will have disabilities.

So all im hearing is that i will probably miscarry and i will probably have a disabled baby.

Um....

We MIGHT be done having kids. 

Regardless. Im just not ready yet. 

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Having all that being said... lets talk about WORKING OUT!!

Lately ive been doing TurboFire and i LOVE it!

I cant decide if INSANITY was more intense or not but Chalene Johnson is definitely more fun!

Girls: If you still look CUTE after working out... YOU DIDNT WORK HARD ENOUGH!

I recently just got a gym pass and my focus at the gym is to build muscle. Ill continue my turbofire at home but focus on weights at the gym at least 3 times a week.

When girls are trying to loose weight they think CARDIO CARDIO CARDIO. But this is SOOO wrong!

Building muscle is probably THE BEST thing you can do for your body.

Because the more muscle you have, the more cals you burn when you are doing nothing like sleeping, and sitting on the couch. And who wouldnt want to be buring calories 24/7?!
You still need cardio of course but DONT NEGLECT YOUR MUSCLES! 

DONT BE AFRAID OF MUSCLE!

If your worried about getting "bulky" just use lower weights with higher reps! Simple.

Of course dieting is in there somewhere..

But i think diets are so stupid..

Im not saying eat but im saying you need to make a LIFESTYLE change.

"Diets" should be continued through out your life time but im talking about eating lots of food. Lots of natural food. Clean eating for say. Pack yourself full of veggies and fruits and LIMIT your carbs, not DEPRIVE.

Sugar is NOT that terrible. Get over it. Of course candy is bad, and other things like that but if your sprinkling a little sugar on your cheerios... ITS O-KAY!

REWARD yourself!

Diets are so freaking depressing...

Eat normal. and healthy.

and WORK OUT!!!!

Working out is SOO good for you.

Good for your heart, your EMOTIONS. It relieves stress and raises endorphin's making you HAPPY!

SO WORK OUT!!!!

Dont sit around "dieting" being lazy.

Amen.

Our Kids are Junk??

 "You are what you eat".

So many moms now a days are on a diet. Thats all i hear. "Oh im on a diet". Which is understandable, having a baby pretty much messes your body up. Even if your a "skinny" girl, after having a kid, your body just isnt the same as it was before. And probably never will be (without the help of plastic surgery). But we all have the extra pound, or 5, or 30 in my case, that we want to loose to feel healthy again.

But what saddens me is when you see moms turn down "junk" food cuz it isnt healthy and they are on a "diet" but then they turn around and give their kids gold fish, and candy, and Ramon noodles, and macaroni and cheese. Would you ever have macaroni and cheese for dinner if you were trying to eat healthy?

Now i know kids can be picky eaters. Trust me, my child is the pickiest. Thats why we have to give her pediasures. But us as parents have to be good examples, and train them while they are young. If we get in the habit of mac&cheese, cheese sticks, and spaghetti -O's and whatever else, they learn bad habits, and bad habits are hard to break.

So anyway, here is a recipe of a fun way to "interest" our picky eaters.

My kid LOVES fruit. So we make Apricot Chicken!

You Need:

4 medium chicken breasts

1 cup apricot jam (ours was home made and had chunks of apricot)

6 TBSP lemon juice

1/2 tsp nutmeg

salf and pepper

Place chicken breasts in a casserole dish. Mix apricot jam, lemon juice, and nutmeg in a bowl. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Spread apricot sauce over chicken. Cover with foil.

Bake at 375 for 45 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 15 minutes. Serve with rice or vegetables or both :)

 Ranch helps Braylee eat healthy lol

But in conclusion... let me make one thing clear,

KIDS NEED TO BE KIDS!

Let them live, let them experience life, even bad food. There is no need for my child to be on a diet. She is skinny as it is. I dont want to teach her to become obsessive about her body like most girls are. I want her to learn to be healthy but also learn to ENJOY life. My point is dont let their entire diet become junk. Its easy to just feed them junk, but we need to incorporate healthy food too :)