Chilling at my second home

For those of you who don't know, Whole Foods is my second home. If I'm not home, on the road, or at the gym, there is a good chance I'm at Whole Foods or WF's as I like to call it.  I'm pretty sure the staff are confused to whether or not a work here. When I'm old I plan on part-timing it at WF's and The Home Depot. How awesome is my life going to be at 80.

This is my little office at WF's. I got internet, people watching, and healthy food options if I get hungry.

Today I feel a lot better and feel like I'm back on track in terms of eating clean and training. I went to the gym first thing this morning and did a great leg and shoulder workout and then rode my bike down to my "office" to hunker down and get some planning done. It's summer time and a great time for fitness events and I am on the hunt to find local events that Skechers can take part in so look out and keep your eyes posted for me at runs or local fitness centres with try-on pairs or free swag to give away.

I also feel pretty good because I did a super heavy DL (deadlift today) 185lb. I love lifting heavy weights and just being in the gym with no distractions, getting into a groove and training. When I get to the gym I like just getting down to my workout and because I've timed my meals around training and me "hangry" isn't a pretty sight. When I'm done training I'm all for some social time but until then I like getting a good workout in and it doesn't help that I get distracted easily and that throws my whole workout off. I know that sounds super snobby but some people can talk and train but I'm not one of those people.

My food today has been good so far. I am still adjusting to being able to eat fruit and have rice cakes which may sound bizarre to anyone who just started reading my blog but I am still eating clean and keeping processed foods down to a minimum and having the occasional cheat meal - dah. For me it is important to eat as clean as possible and I realize that Splenda (as much as I like it) is a majorly processed product. My scale for determining whether a food is processed or not is as follows:

Unprocessed = 1 ingredient (and usually doesn't have a label, but a small sticker (apples/bananas) or comes wrapped in elastic bands (asparagus).

Semi-processed = 3-5 ingredients (rice cakes, peanut butter....)

Processed = anything with more than 5 ingredients....usually isn't food in my world and can be found on the inside of any grocery store - I will admit to enjoying a burger every once in awhile as a cheat meal which at 18 weeks out - I am still allowed. Don't judge me :S

I know that eating clean sounds like a huge chore but once you get the hang of it, it's really easy and your body will thank you. Here's a test and challenge for you this week...WHAT'S IN YOUR FRIDGE?!?!!?

Go to your fridge and open the door....how many items are in bottles or bags and have more than 5 ingredients? Are the fridge doors stuff with condiments that you don't use or overuse? When you use sauces and dressings before even tasting your food how do you know they even need them? That is also something someone said to me that really made me ponder it. My friend Natalie's fridge looks just like mine. Egg whites, chicken, steak, fruit, veggies, peanut butter and that's pretty much it. Literally, that is all that is in our fridges. There are a few rice cakes and yams on top of the fridge but the freezer is all meat. What else would you need to freeze anyways? This brings me to the next Q....
Whats in your freezer?

How long has it lived there? A great rule of thumb is don't eat anything that doesn't spoil or go bad. Someone told me that once and it makes so much sense. We eat so many things that don't go bad because they are full of so many chemicals and probably aren't good for us.

This whole eating clean concept really is super simple but takes some time to adjust to but maybe this has put a question mark in your head on why we really feel the need to buy all that food in the first place and stuff it away in our freezers and cupboards when we will a) never use it or b) it will never go bad - so why are we putting it in our body in the first place??!

Ponder that on this lovely Wednesday afternoon.

Yours in health and fitness,

Nic