Five tips for getting started with a Lifestyle change. #MyBetter

Last month I did my very first guest post on the Momstown Hamilton Blog. If you are in the area, pregnant, or with young kids, you should really check them out! If you are not in the area, check to see if there is a Momstown community near you.  I’m really excited to be doing monthly guest posts over there, and wanted to share one I recently did. Please go check out their blog. 🙂

—

2012 was a huge year for me. I finally made the decision to take control of my life, loose weight and get in shape – I need to keep up with these 2 boys after all! Not only is it important for us as parents to lead a healthy lifestyle, but for us to teach our children to as well.

If you’ve been on the cusp of wanting to make a change, I’ve put together a few tips to help you get started. I hope they can help!

• Be ready. Be committed.  Before starting any lifestyle change, you need to make sure you’re ready for it. If you’re not in a place where you’re ready to commit to something new, it can make it difficult and easier to give up. Write a list of goals. Start off slow, and work your way up.
• Find a fitness routine that you enjoy. Finding a fitness routine or workout that you enjoy will make things easier. If you really dislike jogging, it may not be the exercise of choice to start with. Of course, you may be thinking right now “Are there exercises that are enjoyable?”. I guarantee you can find one. It might be going on walks, doing ‘Just Dance’ on the Wii, or sweating along to a good looking guy on a simple exercise video – they are out there! Once you start seeing the changes you’ll be more willing to push yourself into other routines and exercises.
• Find an accountability partner. Starting such a huge lifestyle change alone can be hard. Try finding a friend who is willing to take this journey alongside you. Plan to work out a couple times a week together, come up with meal plans and set like minded goals. If you have a large group of people who are looking to make changes think about starting a private support group with weekly check ins and weigh-ins.
• Get rid of the junk. Take a good look at what’s stocked in your kitchen. Clear your cupboards of all the cookies, get rid of the tubs of ice cream in your freezer. Not having unhealthy snacks available makes it easier to reach for the good stuff. Stock up on fruits and veggies, and low calorie snacks.
• Take a before picture. There is nothing better than having a before picture to compare yourself to once the weight starts coming off. Not everyone thinks of taking one because they don’t necessarily want to remember themselves that way. It doesn’t have to be for anyone’s eyes but your own, but something you will really appreciate having once the time comes. Personally I kept one of the worst pictures of me as my desktop background for a year, it helped remind me why I was making the change, even on the bad days.

Remember that any lifestyle change can take time, and again lots of commitment. There are ups and downs, and slip-ups along the way but you will get there. Mostly importantly? You need to believe in yourself, and that you can do it – because you can!

Black Bean Brownies – Pinterest Thursday

Today I am cheating a little bit. This was actually something that someone in my weight watchers support group found and posted about. Brownies made with black beans. Sound gross? They are SO not. They may be the best brownies I have ever had.

The only problem was, was that when I sat down to make them (being under the assumption that they were only 1 point each using low fat brownie mix) I knew that it was too good to be true. While looking at the cooking directions on the box, I noticed that all it called for was water and 1 egg. A can of black beans is definitely higher in points than that. So I opened up the laptop, and hopped on the recipe builder. The brownies that were thought to be 1 point, were 4! Just goes to show you that double checking things can be very beneficial. Chowing down on 4 ‘1 point’ brownies is one thing, but 4 ‘4 point’ brownies is not so great. I hated to share the news with my WW friends about the mistake.

So the good thing was, I got the recipe down to 3 points for 1, or only 5 points for 2. Just by making more servings. Here is how to make some DELISH black been, weight watchers friendly brownies.

1. Grab a box of Low Fat brownie mix and a can of Black Beans. Yes, that’s it.

2. Rinse the beans really well under water than place them in your food processor and add enough water to just cover them and blend.

3. Mix your puréed beans with the brownie mix, and scoop into a lightly sprayed mini muffin tray, then bake as directed on the box!

Again, I must stress, even though they may not sound very good, they are probably some of the most rich brownies I have ever had. Of course, it would be less points doing it the way the box says, but what a great way to get some extra fibre and protein!

Enjoy!