Don’t Forget to Live a Little – 5 Reasons You Deserve to Indulge Sometimes

Happy National Pizza Day, loves! In honor of this amazing day, I wanted to talk about why you deserve to actually celebrate it. Indulging in something greasy, fatty, cheesy, and downright bad for you may seem like the worst thing ever when you’re trying to get fit. However, it can actually be beneficial in a lot of ways.

I love pizza. It’s one of my favorite cheat foods – right after dark chocolate and pasta. Although it may seem like you can’t even look at junk food when you’re living a fit lifestyle, that’s not exactly true. I definitely indulge in some junk every now and then without ruining my fitness progress! Let me tell you why I think everyone deserves to enjoy their favorite junk food every now and then – especially on National Pizza Day.

1.    It’ll actually help maintain your healthy lifestyle.

This may seem counteractive, but it definitely works for me. I know just how difficult it can be to stick to a strict diet – especially if you’re trying to lose weight. You may get so sick of healthy food that after a while, you just break and end up binging on the worst food all day. This type of indulging is the type that will halt your progress. But if you schedule a cheat meal here and there – like on National Pizza Day – it’ll give you something to look forward to and break up all of that healthy eating.

2.    It keeps you sane.

How many of you feel like you go insane when you eat the same, healthy foods all the time? I know I even need a break sometimes. Allowing yourself to indulge every now and then will help keep you sane and it’ll also make you appreciate all the healthy food you eat regularly.

3.    It’ll shock your metabolism.

When your body eats the same types of foods and the same amount of calories over a long period of time, it kind of adjusts to it. Meaning, your metabolism will get used to a lower amount of calories and it won’t burn as efficiently. When you hit it with some high calorie, fatty foods, it’ll rev up and burn much faster because it’s not used to it. This is my favorite part because you get a cheat meal without having to feel too guilty!

4.    You deserve a reward for your hard work.

This is the biggest reason you should indulge sometimes. You deserve it! You work so hard all week to stay fit and eat healthy that you deserve a reward for all of that effort. When you get to reward yourself after a lot of hard work, it’ll help you stay motivated to do so. When you know a cheat meal is waiting at the end of the week, you’ll be more likely to stick to your healthy lifestyle.

5.    It can even help fuel a more intense workout.

Many people may not realize this, but if you have a cheat meal full of high carb and high fats the day before an intense workout, you’ll be able to do a lot more. The extra calories and carbs give you more energy to pump out more reps at higher weights or to run even longer than you would otherwise. Before a big day of lifting or cardio, having a cheat meal can make it even more beneficial.

National Pizza Day should be celebrated by everyone regardless of whether or not you’re trying to maintain a healthy diet. Reward yourself for all your hard work and don’t forget to indulge every now and then. You deserve it!

10 Tasty and Healthy Snacks You Can Eat on the Go!

Happy Friday everyone! How many of you love snacks? I know I do! Food is such a pleasure in our world and it’s normal for people to have up to 5 small snacks in a day – not even counting their meals!

With our society running at such a fast pace, it’s easy to just grab something that’ll fill you up quick without even providing you with any nutrients because you have no time to make something beneficial. I’m sure all of your have your go-to snacks that you love and grab when you’re super busy, but are they healthy? Do they push you forward in your fitness and health journeys or are they holding you back?

Don’t get me wrong, I have an unhealthy snack or two every now and then, but what I’ve learned over time is that if you prepare healthy snacks you can grab and eat in a hurry, you’ll push yourself so much closer to reaching those goals! So, I’ve decided to put together a list of delicious and healthy snacks you can eat on the go that are also really easy to put together.

1.    Protein Bars

There’s no mistaking just how beneficial protein bars are – not to mention they’re my go-to for a quick and healthy snack on the go. There are so many different varieties you can choose from and most of them even come in flavors that will help curb your sweet cravings. Just be careful and read the labels because some are high in fats!

2.    Almonds

If you don’t have a bag of almonds in your purse or your car, you’re doing snacking wrong. They’re full of protein, healthy fats, and are perfect to grab and eat on the go. They’ll be sure to hold you over until your next meal while giving you beneficial vitamins and nutrients, as well.

3.    Trail Mix

This is my favorite healthy snack to eat on the go! You find it at practically any market, or make it in big batches so you're set for the week. Load your trail mix with healthy nuts, seeds, granola, and I actually like to toss in a few mini dark chocolate chips. They give it a sweet bite and help with my cravings throughout the day.

4.    Protein Shakes

If you need to get your protein in for the day, a protein shake is the best snack you can make and have on the go. You can just mix some protein powder in with your water in a shaker bottle, or pre-make smoothie bags so you can just toss the ingredients in a blender, add milk or water, blend it up, and go!

5.    Peanut Butter Oat Protein Bites

If you want a filling snack that’s also really healthy and beneficial for your fitness journey, then this is it. The best thing about this as a healthy snack on the go is that you can make them yourself and make them any flavor you want.

6. Greek Yogurt

Traditional yogurt isn’t always the best for you, but almost every brand has their own unique version of greek yogurt that is lower in sugar, full of protein, and perfect for eating on the go. (don't forget to pack your spoon!)

7.    Banana Muffins

I know what you’re thinking, “Jen, why would you put muffins on a list of healthy foods?” The truth is that if you’re someone who craves baked goods a LOT during the day, you’ll benefit from these. You can make them using this recipe  and they’re a much better option than any other sweet treat.

8.    Apples

I know this may seem like a boring snack, but hear me out. Apples have a lot of fiber and they’re extremely filling. They also pack more energy for you than one cup of coffee. So if you’re feeling drowsy midday and you’re hungry, munch on an apple and you’ll feel so much better! 

9.    Kale Chips

For those of you who’ve never had kale chips before, you’re missing out. They’re easy to make, you can tailor them to any flavor that you like, and they’re ridiculously healthy and satisfying. You can take them in little bags anywhere with you for a quick snack.

10.  Bananas

This is a great healthy snack in between meals to help keep you satisfied.. It is full of potassium, low in carbohydrates, and high in fiber which will help stabilize your sugar level and it is perfect to eat while you are on the go!

Now that you have so many different healthy snacks to eat on the go, there’s no excuse to grab that bag of chips when you have something else prepared that’s so much healthier! Don’t put your goals on the back burner because you don’t have time to make something healthy.

Watch Out for These Fad Diets that DON'T Work

Hello loves! Today I want to touch on the topic of fad diets. If you’re not sure what a fad diet is, it’s basically a way of changing what you’re eating to get fast results. Juice cleanses, the military diet, and the master cleanse are just a few examples.

I get asked all the time what I eat to stay in shape and the truth is, it’s a mixture of different healthy foods. Some people might say that I am doing this diet or that diet, and I don’t usually refer to what I eat as a “diet” and I’ll tell you why.

I think that the word “diet” makes people think that it’s restricting your food intake or only eating certain foods for a short period of time in order to achieve some kind of results. The reality of my life is that it’s a LIFESTYLE CHOICE. I lead a healthy lifestyle and that means I eat healthy foods and workout to stay in shape. 

That’s why I truly believe that these fad diets DON’T work and you should avoid doing them at all costs.

Juice Cleanses

I am all for downing a delicious juiced drink. They’re packed with nutrients and stuff that your body needs in order to function. But I am not all for ONLY drinking juiced fruits and veggies as the only thing you consume in a day – or even as long as a week, which some people do.

Sure, this makes you lose weight, but it does so by basically starving your body of proteins and fats – two things you need in order to function properly. The bottom line is that this diet is short lived because as soon as you finally eat protein and fats again, your body will absorb it like a sponge since it was deprived of it before and you’ll hold onto it more – meaning you’ll gain the weight right back. Don’t do this fad diet.

Grapefruit Diet

I love fruit! Not as much as dark chocolate, but it’s still amazing and really good for you. This fad diet has become popular because grapefruits are known to have a certain enzyme that burns fat. So, whenever someone only eats grapefruits for a few days they think they’re burning all kinds of fats.

The issue with this fad diet is that it’s super low calorie – yet again. Sure, it means you’ll drop some weight, but you’re not doing it in a healthy way and you’ll more than likely gain it all back right away anyways!

The Five-Bite Diet

Can you all please promise me that you’ll never listen to this kind of nonsense diet? This poor excuse for a diet is the idea that you will only eat 5 bites of your food and then be done with it until your next meal.

This is terrible and it’s telling people that they shouldn’t eat – which is SO WRONG! You need food in order to function and I need all of you to eat FULL, well-balanced meals to get in shape instead of harming your body by depriving it of everything it needs by only taking 5 bites.

The Cabbage Soup Diet

Have any of you ever had cabbage soup before? It seems really bland and not very tasteful to me, but for some reason people eat this soup day in and day out for a week at a time. Yes, it’s low calorie, but it also doesn’t contain valuable nutrients.

Your body needs more than cabbage and in order to function and be healthy and that is why this fad diet doesn’t work. It also doesn’t work because it’s just like the juice diet, it’ll make you lose weight – but only in the short term.

The Lemonade Diet

Lemonade is delicious! I’ll be the first person to tell you that, but it is not something that you should ONLY consume in a whole day – especially not for multiple days at a time. This diet is the idea that by drinking lemonade you’re detoxing your body because lemons are powerful detoxifiers. While this is true, you’re starving your body of everything it needs to be healthy and fully functioning. That’s why this fad diet doesn’t work.

What do all of these diets have in common? That’s right! They’re all “quick fixes” that don’t actually fix anything at all. If any of you babes want to lose weight, you have to do it the right way with a healthy BALANCED diet and a great exercise program. But before you even do that, just know that you’re perfect the way you are <3