Ericka: It's Easier in the Beginning (6.26.13)

Dieting and exercising always seems easier in the beginning. It's when I'm the most motivated. I've already lost 6 lbs in the last 2.5 weeks, and it's keeping me going. My dedication usually starts to wan after a few weeks. I get tired of having to eat healthy when everyone else seems to eat whatever they want without any consequences. Then I start to hit a plateau, and the weight starts to drop off a little slower. I can't promise you this time will be different, but for some reason it feels different. It feels like the summer I lost 30 pounds right before I took the bar. I was dedicated to a jogging routine, and after 30 days it became a habit.

This morning I woke up around 6:30am with the hope that I'd be able to get in a 40 minute workout before the beast, my 19 month old son, woke up. Well that didn't pan out, but I did put in a good 20 minutes without  any distractions, and another 10 minutes with him dancing next to me. Not quite 40 minutes, but still better than nothing. Today I did various YouTube workouts. For my warm-up I did Beyonce's "Move Your Body" from the First Lady's fitness campaign.  It's such a fun way to start your morning.

 Then I did Keaira LaShae's Valentine's Day Workout Routine, and I did it in heels!

I also did her Rihanna "Cake" workout routine, the tutorial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64i2Y-VygVE  and the actual dance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGRSdetpI_s.

If you don't know about Keaira Lashae, then you need to get familiar. She has awesome workouts that usually incorporates dancing, which I love to do, but she also has kickboxing, tabata, and interval training routines, and she provides great fitness tips. Check out her YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/superherofitnesstv

For breakfast I had one of my kitchen sink green smoothies. This one had raw mixed greens (kale, spinach, collard greens), pumpkin seeds, non-fat vanilla greek yogurt, 1/2 a pack of low sugar cinnamon spice instant oatmeal (cooked), 1 frozen banana, handful of baby carrots, a tsp of honey, a pinch of cayenne pepper and a sprinkling of coffee. I put all of the ingredients in my handy nutribullet and voila! It made 2 servings, and the protein from the yogurt kept me full until lunch time.

Tip: My son doesn't eat as many vegetables as I would like. He pretty much sticks to peas and green beans. However he does like some of my smoothie concoctions so I share it with him. For the ones that have an earthier flavor, I mix a 1/2 serving with his milk and add a little chocolate to it, and he guzzles it down.

My little helper

Yummy

For lunch I had sauteed mixed greens and a grilled chicken thigh seasoned with lemon pepper. For dinner I will have another smoothie but sans the oatmeal.

Just 7 more days until this detox is over!

E