First, I would like to acknowledge and thank each and every one of you who are new here! Going viral only means one thing to me, I get to reach more women. And, from the flood of messages, DMs and emails (that I’m still trying to get back to-sorry!), proves to me that my trying to bridge the gap between straight sizes and plus sizes, is finally have some sort of overwhelmingly positive impact! And I couldn’t be more thrilled.
The internet can be a cruel place, but you all have showed me and my body nothing but absolute love. The comments are all positive. Like, what?! ALL positive?! How sway?! I don’t think I really realized that women seeing my body, my shape, my size would have such a positive impact. I mean, I thought it might, because I saw beyond what mainstream media shows us, saw beyond the popular skinny or plus size influencers, I knew there were millions of women out there who felt just like me, “I can’t relate” or “I can’t find anyone who is shaped like me” or “Why are there no midsize fashion bloggers?” or “I don’t feel represented at all!”
Over the past few weeks, the two questions I received the most was, “what do you do to workout” and “what do you eat?” I am going to start by saying that I’m obviously no fitness expert and certainly no nutritionist. I’d like to make that very clear! This is just what works for me and my body. Everyone’s body is very different so what may work for me, may not work for you. Or maybe it will! I try to make the healthiest decisions based on how food effects my body and based on my knowledge of food.
FOOD
Okay, so for starters, I have Celiac Disease which eliminates a lot of food I would reallllly love to eat. Celiac is an autoimmune disease and the only way to treat it, help manage my symptoms and promote the healing of my intestines, is to avoid gluten at all costs. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye (ie. all the really yummy food-pastas, breads, pastries, etc.). With that being said, I have found a few Gluten Free options that I eat on occasion, like Trader Joe’s GF bagels! They’re SO good…they make me feel like I’m eating the real thing!
Celiac is out of my control, but I do make other food decisions on choice. I’ve been meat free for about eight years now and I feel GREAT. I feel like it’s the healthiest choice I can personally make for my body. And also after reading a book called “You Are What You Eat,” that was the end of that! It was an easy lifestyle change I made and I’m so glad I did. I feel lighter and don’t get tired after eating anymore. Also, I educated myself on food in America and how it’s processed. The more I learned, the more questions I asked, the more disgusted I was.
Some documentaries that I felt were informative were “What The Health” and “Game Changers.” And lastly, I’m trying to do my very small part in helping slow down Global Warming.
Beef and lamb have an especially large climate footprint for another reason: The stomachs of cows and sheep contain bacteria that help them digest grass and other foods. But those bacteria create methane, a potent greenhouse gas, that is then released through burps (and a bit of flatulence)
-NY Times
Essentially, the more meat consumed, the more cows needed, the more we are destroying the earth because of their burps and farts! Sounds ridiculously silly, but that’s what’s happening. Overall, I just don’t think meat is healthy of me, so I simply don’t eat it.
So, what do I eat?
I’m plant-based, mostly. I can’t say that I’m 100% Vegan (real Vegans would scoff at me probably or tell me “good effort”), but I’m pretty close. The only thing I drink is water. I stay away from alcohol except for a celebratory glass of champagne on special occasions. I choose brown rice instead of white, I use Tofu as a meat substitute and very rarely will have a piece of wild caught fish. I eat mostly fruits and veggies. I drink decaf coffee and use oat milk as my creamer. But, there is a small list of things that I will never put in my body.
Never ever foods:
- soda
- juice of any kind (SO much sugar!)
- meat
- dairy (no eggs, milk, cheese*)
- gluten
- fast food of any kind
*I try to be 100% cheese free, but I do treat myself to a GF pizza with real cheese on occasion if I am over my frozen Vegan pizza. I buy dairy free cheese products for the house.
Examples of my meals:
- Breakfast: dairy free yogurt (plain, no sugar), raspberries, GF granola| GF avocado toast | GF oatmeal | Just Egg substitute w/ sautéed veggies & GF toast | Decaf coffee w/ oat milk | Fruit smoothie (banana, almond butter, oat milk)
- Lunch: Veggie sandwich (carrots, peppers, avocado, lettuce, tomato) w/ pesto & hummus | Salad (lettuce, quinoa, sweet potato, cherry tomatoes, avocado, EVOO & balsamic vinegar) | Apple & peanut butter
- Dinner: Tofu stir fry w/ brown rice | Salad | Eggplant | Veggie Patty | Sweet Potato | Spaghetti Squash | GF pasta w/ veggies | Soup (Amy’s Lentil Soup or Veggie Chili)
- Dessert: 1 piece of Vegan dark chocolate (72% cocoa)
I use Trader Joe’s Organic Coconut oil, EVOO and Earth Balance vegan “butter” whenever I cook. And the best way to maintain my healthy lifestyle is to avoid buying things for the house I shouldn’t eat!
I don’t love cooking, so what I eat is incredibly basic but I absolutely love what I eat. I don’t snack and usually just eat three meals a day. If I do snack, I’ll eat nuts or a piece of fruit. But I’m one of those types, that need to eat as soon as I wake up and will not miss a meal. Because of Celiac, it’s easy for me to stay away from “party food” because I can’t eat the majority of it. I often eat before I go places/gatherings (pre-COVID) and pack my own food when I need to.
I try to stay away from processed food as much as possible and the thing I look at most when buying food is the the sugar content on the back of the package. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out. Again, I’m no expert, I just do what is best for me!
What is my workout regimen?
I workout anywhere from 4-6x a week, but I try to move my body everyday. I love to switch things up, so I’m always doing something different. Pre COVID-19, I was a member of a gym and really enjoyed taking their fitness classes. I believe moving is the most important thing we can do for ourselves, little having to do with the appearance of our body. It’s imperative for our mental health especially during these crazy times!
Here are the following things I do to move my body:
- ride bike (5-10miles/30mins-1hour)
- yoga first thing in the morning w/ Peloton (they offer a free 30 day trial) (+will often do an additional workout later in the day)
- strength training w/ weights (at home-I LOVE Hasfit classes)
- workout class (at home-I LOVE Popsugar classes)
- run (3 miles)
- ab work (I created a FREE 30-day ab program, 10 minutes of abs for 30 days)
- play basketball
- play golf
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