Kelli’s Simple Life
Strategies to look good and feel good- Inside Out
I support a healthy NATURAL lifestyle- good sleep, exercise
and healthy eating.
Mental health-
surrounding myself with only positive people (when I can control that ;) ), in
the same way doing my best to keep my thoughts in the right place, I am not
perfect at it but try. Having daily time with the Lord, I’m in constant prayer
and always seeking his guidance with my decisions, doing my best to make
decisions that will affect me and my family in a positive way…
1)
Sleep-
Sleep is a recharge time and having good rest will help you be more productive
each day. Go to bed at a decent time and wake up a decent time. Right when you
wake up, drink a big glass of ice water.. It wakes up your organs.
2)
Exercise-
I love Pilates, yoga, ballet barre workouts, light weight lifting with
dumbbells and walks around the neighborhood. I also teach many hours of dance
each day and that helps maintain a good activity level. I always suggest
finding an exercise you enjoy.. If you don’t like a boot camp styled work out,
don’t sign up for a boot camp. There are plenty of ways to burn calories. I
personally enjoy lower impact styled workouts but occasionally find myself
doing many different types of workouts some harder than others.
3)
Healthy
Eating- I am gluten intolerant and have had to go gluten free within the
last couple of years. Not for weight loss but for my constant upset stomachs my whole life, no doctors have even found anything wrong. I wouldn’t say it has fixed the problem (still super
sensitive & a picky eater) but it has helped my stomach and anxiety tremendously.
Things I love- coffee, almond milk, smoothies, gluten free bagels with almond
butter & honey, corn tortillas with turkey & cheese, GF pizza, &
more! See below for some easy GF recipes. I have tried to go vegetarian and no
red meat. Both kept me pretty low energy & it was not as easy to fight
illness. I eat red meat now once a week, doctors’ orders!
WEIGHT LOSS CRAZE, PILLS, CHALLENGES, INCOME, CLEANSE….
There is no magic pill for weight loss. A good multi vitamin
is necessary and a balanced diet (ask your doctor what else you should add). My
doc told me to add fiber to my diet, so I get the powder and sprinkle it in my
daily coffee; he always said to avoid night hunger to eat protein before bed (a
piece of meat). A natural way to lose weight and get in shape is adding activity
to your daily life and watching what you put in your mouth...That’s it! I will
not support any trend or fad; I am fully 100% against the sales tactics with weight
loss products. The only thing I have seen that works is lifestyle changes!
Something I support that is not a supplement is Weight Watchers (eating
portions and counting calories). The only thing anyone should be spending money
on (not a magic product) is healthy food (fruits, vegetables, lean meats, protein,
fiber), less processed foods (the boxed stuff), less sugary snacks (cokes,
cookies, ect..) If you look at the format of any weight loss program, it’s all
the same CUT CALORIES… no need to pay someone for a product to do that. Just do
it..
CHEAT DAY!
The more I am active,
the more I know I have leeway to have candy or something else unhealthy I am
really craving. In all honesty, it is all about moderation. Weight loss in the
right way is a process, it will not happen overnight. Starving yourself is not
the answer. You need calories for energy. I love candy & chocolate.. Oops!
SIMPLE GLUTEN FREE RECIPES
Tacos
-Ground Meat
- Pioneer Brand Taco Seasoning
- 1 Can of Kidney Beans
- 1 can of whole corn
-1 can of black beans
- corn tortillas
- salsa
Brown Meat, Rinse Meat, add a cup of water with the Taco
Seasoning, simmer. On the side, rinse & mix beans and serve with chips.
Warm up your corn tortillas. Add lettuce, tomatoes, reduced fat cheese, sour
cream to spice it up.
Crock Pot Roast
-
Red Fork Sunday Pot Roast Seasoning
-
Choice of Meat
-
Carrots
-
Red potatoes
-
Any other vegetables you want to add
-
Vegetable broth
Brown meat stove top 5 minutes each side, add all of the
above in the crock pot. Set it on low and wait 8 hours!
Chili
-
Pioneer Brand Chili Seasoning or Wick Fowlers
Both are great!
-
Choice of lean ground meat
-
2 Cans of Red Kidney beans
-
2 cans of Stewed Tomatoes
-
1 Can of whole corn
-
Gluten Free Corn Bread (follow directions on
box)
Brown and rinse meat, rinse beans and tomatoes, add all and
simmer covered stove top 10 minutes. Serve with gluten free crackers or GF corn
bread.
Fried Catfish &
Shrimp
-Tony Chachere Creole spice ( I always check to make sure
it's GF, this spice is made in a facility that produces wheat but no direct
ingredients) -fresh catfish from the Meat Market - 1 egg - 1 cup of almond milk
( I don't drink cows milk)
-Fresh Catfish & Fresh Pre Cooked Shrimp (no tail) you
can also get fresh uncooked shrimp & cook it. –
-Fried Catfish - Mix egg & milk in bowl. - Dip fish in
egg mix. - Place spices in a pan or deep dish, place fish in pan. Dust off any
extra batter. - Place in heated oil of your choice in frying pan (watch out for
the splatters) Cook for 5 mins on each side or until done, don't burn it.
-place on paper towel to get extra grease off.
-Fries Ore Ida
Seasoned fries from the frozen section. You can also make homemade fries by
cutting potatoes & putting them in the oil. I went the quick route tonight.
-Fried shrimp -Follow steps from the above fillet
directions.
-Canned Green beans EASY as that!
Breakfast- Biscuits
& gravy, hash brown potatoes and eggs
-All Purpose Gluten Free Flour (following the biscuit
ingredient list on the box) I use a greased muffin pan so they come out right.
I have tried a couple of different brands.
-Pioneer Brand GF gravy (you mix it in boiled water on stove
top, very easy), At HEB, it's in the aisle with the premixed spices.
-Ore Ida Hashbrowns on stove top & scrambled eggs...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All things Gluten Free
I have tons of recipes I LOVE which are all Gluten Free. Feel free to contact me for recipe ideas!
Don’t Wait to get rid of the extra Weight!
-Its all about getting healthy by gaining knowledge of what you are putting into your body-
There are a couple of things that weight can refer to, weight on your body and weight on your mind. Both of which go hand in hand. You deserve to live a life of quality and live a life to the best of your ability both mentally and physically. As you can see we live in an “overweight America”, overly stressed and the pounds are packed on. Partly do to poor choices, partly do to terrible ingredients in our foods that are out of our control.
There are all types of things going around in the media:
“Red meat contains slime which has been soaked in ammonia”
“Chicken contains antibiotics such as Prozac and Tylenol”
“Poultry contains steroids”
“Milk has added hormones”
“Fried food clogs your arteries”
“Sodas will kill you”
“Caffeine’s good for you, Caffeine’s not good for you”
“High fructose corn syrup can cause diabetes, heart disease and liver disease”
“Gluten is bad for you! No Gluten in wheat can aid in weight loss”
“Too much of this causes health problems and not enough of that causes health problems.”
“Juice is all sugar and will rot your teeth out”
There is so much information circling, it is hard for anyone who doesn’t have any knowledge about making the right healthy choices to not be anything but completely confused and mislead. I can be honest and say I don’t completely trust the FDA and really don’t believe they closely monitor the companies and ingredients used like they should. One thing in particular is food boxes containing the words “natural”, there is a study out that that claims the ingredients are highly processed and not natural. I often refer to eatthis.com to get advice on what are the right choices or wrong choices at restaurants and the grocery store.
My personal guide to making the right choices:
-I never deprive myself; however, I am very, very health conscious.
-You can never go wrong with fruits and vegetables and anyone who says fruit will make you fat from all of the natural sugars, has missed the boat. Fruit is very hydrating and contains nutrients our bodies need. People who are gaining weight A) have a thyroid, genetic or health issue B) are making very poor choices.
-Learn to love vegetables, don’t like em’? Find a dip to dip them in as a snack.
Drinks- I love water and it is my go to drink. I have two small cups of coffee nearly every morning. I limit my caffeine intake, if I have coffee for breakfast, I will avoid another caffeinated drink during the day. Naturally decaffeinated Green tea boosts your metabolism.
DIET, what a terrible word. I do not believe in dieting. Dieting is completely temporary and you will deprive yourself of needed nutrients during this time. Do not take diet pills, or go on a juice fast. I am only telling you this because I have personally fallen in the trap of these hoaxes, this is only a temporary fix & very dangerous for your body. Take care of yourself, you have one life to live and it feels good to be healthy physically and mentally. If you’re looking for the best advice, join Weight Watchers (or read up about it). It is all about small portions, although you do count points, you are able to train your mind and really gain knowledge in order to make the right choices. Besides growing up in a healthy family, my dad began weight watchers years ago and it really guided our family to gaining more knowledge on nutrition.
Now that you are ready to make healthy food and drink selections…. Let’s get to the weight loss.
The key to maintaining your weight or losing is staying ACTIVE. You cannot reach your goals the right way by staring at the computer all day. For those of you who are in the office environment for 40 hours a week, bring athletic shoes and take a stroll down the hallways or on the sidewalk outside for 5-10 minutes in the morning and 5-10 minutes in the afternoon. After you eat your lunch, go for another stroll (this helps digestion and can spike your energy level for your afternoon work day). If your one, who doesn’t enjoy exercise, look for an activity you do enjoy & stick to it. If you can change your prospective to enjoy exercise, it will improve your quality of life tremendously.
-Not a runner? Go for a power walk
-Don’t like to get sweaty? Try a low impact workout such as Pilates and yoga (both help with toning). This does not include hot yoga; you will get sweaty doing that.
-Grab 8-10lb dumbbells and find a workout on self.com Squats & lunges are a good place to start. Focus on one leg at a time for added benefits.
-Take your dogs on a walk around the neighborhood, good bonding time for you & heart healthy for both of you.
- Dance, play your favorite music and strike your best dance moves, fastest way to having a dancer’s body.
- Ride a bike, you learned it as a child and what a fun & relaxing way to squeeze in exercise.
- If you don’t have time to join a gym, get weights and a mat and you are more than ready. Try several circuits and incorporate things such as pushups, sit ups, planks, ect.
This article is all about steering you in the right direction. I do not have intentions to say everyone should strive for a size 0 because that is untrue. Every body type has an ideal weight and believe me when you hit your ideal weight (not more not less) you will feel incredible. Being healthy is what is important.
One of the quickest ways to live a life of purpose is getting right mentally. Change your prospective in life, take a deep breath, soak in the beauty of the earth and get your heart and mind right with the Lord.
The bottom line is making a life change not a temporary change. Be determined to look your best and feel your best, not for anyone else but YOU. If those extra few pounds are holding you back from enjoying life to the fullest, start making changes today not tomorrow. If you are stressed out, cast all of your cares to the Lord, it says it repeatedly in the Bible, He’s ready to move in our lives but we must go to Him first. Gain confidence or what’s better known as Godfidence, knowing the Lord created you to be all you can be.
-Kelli Talley Santos
