What Should a Day of Eating Look Like?

                Having a meal plan and prepping food for the week is essential to staying on task to reach your goals. I personally eat very close to the Whole30 diet, (www.whole30.com).  I have a gluten and dairy intolerance which prohibits me from eating both of those food categories. This type of diet is a great meal plan that helps to cleanse your body from any processed foods or toxins. I am going to break down for you what a simple day of eating looks like in my world. Keep in mind it will look different for everyone depending on what your goal is. I currently am working on gaining 15-20 pounds of muscle weight long-term through eating a specified diet and working out.

                Breakfast:

·         2 scrambled eggs with coconut oil

·         4-5 pieces of low-sodium bacon

·         Half an avocado with Garlic Expressions dressing to taste

Snack:

·         1 scoop Amazing Grass Vanilla Chai supplement

·         1 cup of Good Karma Flax Protein + Milk

·         1 frozen banana

·         1 cup fresh spinach or kale

·         ½ cup frozen fruit of your choice

·         2 tbsp. of flax seed finely ground

Lunch:

·         Handful of asparagus

·         Portion size of cauliflower

·         Meat of your choice the size of your palm (chicken, hamburger, pork, salmon)

·         Portion size of sweet potato or spaghetti squash

Snack:

·         1 scoop Amazing Grass Chocolate Infusion Supplement

·         1 cup of Good Karma Flax Protein + Milk

·         1 frozen banana

·         1 cup fresh spinach or kale

·         Sprinkle of cinnamon

·         2 tbsp. of almond butter

 

Dinner:

·         Meat of your choice the size of your palm (chicken, hamburger, pork, salmon)

·         Serving size of redskin potatoes with garlic, oregano, and olive oil

·         Serving size of broccoli

·         Romaine lettuce salad with carrots, cucumbers, radishes, spinach, tomato, beets, and mushrooms

If you are not trying to gain weight, simply take out the smoothies. This is a great way to help your body maintain the foods it needs to stay healthy. Still hungry? Grab a handful of raw mixed nuts, seeds and dried fruit or any type of fruit in-between meals! Raw veggies are good too. Having a diverse diet with many different food options helps your body to get the nutrients it needs. Foods such as bacon, avocado, and cooking oils are high in healthy fat contents which help to gain weight. Spices such as turmeric, cumin, and even pineapple help to fight inflammation in the body. Although this extensive of a diet is not for everyone, it can always be tweaked to what your working goal is.

Not sure how many calories you should be in taking to reach your goal? MyFitnessPal has an app for your smart device to help you track your caloric intake. This will also help you to set and reach goals. I know I personally need to be held accountable to achieve goals, so I use all the tips and tricks I can. I hope this helps start you on your personal health journey!

Exercise, Why It's Important

Exercise! Yes, I said it, there are so many benefits that come from it. Whether you have had a positive or stressful day exercise is the answer. It will indeed improve your mood. More often than not we neglect our bodies of the daily or weekly things that it needs.

I am passionate about exercise because of my own personal experience with it. I have personally suffered with anxiety since a young age and when I exercise regularly I experience less of it. I currently work in a court with minimal windows and by the time I am done I cannot wait to see what’s left of the sunlight. The minute I walk outside I instantly smile when the suns out. Naturally I love to do any outdoor activities including roller balding, golfing, walking, running or bike riding. Finding an outdoor hobby that you are passionate about is important for your mental health too.

How does exercise improve your mood? When you exert yourself in any form of exercise it releases feel-good chemicals in the brain. This releases a combination endorphin’s that create a relaxed and calming sensation. As I was looking for more ways to cope with anxiety and excess energy I learned about the importance of this activity. Exercise helps manage stress, anxiety, depression, weight, and more. Being outside while you exercise is essential to receiving enough vitamin D. This is also a natural mood enhancer. Living in a state with four seasons, it is impossible for us to receive all the vitamin D we need naturally from the sun. Taking this vitamin daily will not only help improve your mood, it also helps with inflammation in the body and joint pain.

 

So this is all helpful but where do you begin? You can start with 5-10 minutes! You don’t have to jump right away into a half hour of exercise. If it is not part of your daily routine, then start small and increase as you see fit. Everyone’s body is different so be in tune and listen to what your body is telling you.

When done properly you’ll never finish exercising and say “I wish I wouldn’t have done that”!

Want to Eat Healthier? Start Here.

Ever wanted to do a body cleanse but not sure where to start? Well, you’re in the right place. Four years ago I became health food conscious. By that I mean aware of what processed foods, gluten, dairy, and preservatives are and how they affect the body. It wasn’t until 2 years ago that I have altered my diet to be completely free of gluten, dairy, and harmful preservatives. After only three months I felt a huge change in my body between mental clarity, no stomach pains, and less body aches. Let’s talk specifically about those first three months.

Where to start? I started with simple, whole foods. Anything that was not processed and still in its natural form. This means meat, veggies, fruits, eggs, nuts, and seeds.   Along with this I still choose to eat rice, corn products (some people have a corn intolerance), quinoa, and gluten-free oats. These staple foods helped me to begin to heal my gut from all the chemically processed foods I had consumed years prior.

What did I avoid? Everything else. Yes I mean it, in order to truly cleanse my body I cut out grains, dairy, peanut butter and processed foods. I now replace sugar with coconut sugar, flour with almond and coconut flour, peanut butter with almond and sun butter and dairy with almond and flax milk. There are so many positive, healthy alternatives! These are just the ones I personally use, there is a large variety of choices at any health food store.

 

Not that bad, right? The second part of this lifestyle choice is food prep. I personally feel that cooking and baking are therapeutic and I enjoy it! Worried about time constraints? There is an easy solution. Before shopping, preplan your meals so it is clear what your weekly food menu will be. Then choose a free day when you have a 2-3 hour time block to prep your food. This will allow you to have maximum time efficiency because you are well organized. It’s up to you how much food you choose to prep, I did three to four days out (I now cook daily or every other day).

 

The beauty of all your effort and preparation is once you experience how great your body can feel, you’ll wonder how you ever did it differently before. Our bodies are not meant to break down the preservatives, chemicals, sugars, and additives they place into most processed foods. When you eliminate these substances from entering your body, pay close attention to what your body is telling you. Did that pain in your stomach go away? Did your headaches decrease? Has that dull achy feeling in your body ceased? You’ll be amazed at how treating your body right allows it to function the way it was designed to, and how liberating it can be!

What Does Empower, Balance, Refine mean?

Hello my name is Samantha Weinand and I am passionate about empowering others on their life journey. Empower, Balance, Refine really holds a lot of value within the name for how I wish to impact people.

Empower: It is so important in life to feel empowered and confident. I believe that the first place this starts is within yourself! Individually we have to be ready to take the first initial step. I remember five years ago where I started out within my own health journey, and how many people have positively influenced me along the way. Without these key people I cannot say I would have been quite as motivated or held accountable to learn as much as I have. I feel the most in-tune with my body that I ever have in my lifetime. Feeling empowered to take control of your health, eating habits, exercise, sleep, etc. is essential to empowering yourself to gain the knowledge, tools, and consistency to make important healthy lifestyle choices.



Balance: Once we individually find the right tools, foods, and overall health regimen for ourselves it is important to have an action plan to stay focused. Keep in mind what may work for me might be slightly different than what works for you. For example I have found that I have a gluten and diary intolerance. Talk about a difficult fact to accept, but as I eliminated these foods from my diet I felt the best I have ever felt and I haven’t turned back since. Although it can be easy in life to get off track with a healthy lifestyle due to the pressure of a fast paced society and instant gratification, there are tools that can help. Great things often do take time. In order not to get discouraged, I keep a planner for my week to week activities and daily or weekly goals. This helps to keep myself accountable with maintaining a healthy and balanced lifestyle.


Refine: This is just as important as the first two steps. In life we are constantly growing, learning, and changing. As this happens it is important that we take what we have already learned and implemented in the past and tweak it with the new information going into the future. Refining certain food intake, types of exercise, adding in other holistic tools like essential oils and such are helpful as one dives deeper into their health journey. Don’t forget it is always important to assess how far you have come and to plan for where you would like to be in the future!

This three step continuous life journey has held tremendous value in my life as I continue to work on my personal health goals and I hope you find value in it too.