Our Menu for the Week

Okay, so I don't actually have a menu this week.  I know, I know -- I just started them again, but this time I can explain!

Ready?

My refrigerator is full of leftovers from last week's menu.  This is unusual considering we eat leftovers twice each week so that we won't have this issue.  But here is the deal: Ryan and I have made some serious decisions recently about our health.  Mainly, that it's important to us!

It didn't take rocket science to figure out that we're not 20 anymore (Ryan turns 30 in April) and that our metabolisms just didn't function like the use to back in the day.  What it did take was the realization that if we continued down the path we were on, more than just our waistlines would begin to suffer.

In August, before Emma was born, a good friend of mine introduced me to AdvoCare's Spark Energy Drink.  I was skeptical, but once I started using Spark, I noticed that I wasn't crashing at naptime anymore.  Spark was giving me the sustained energy I needed to be productive all day long, and it was actually good for me!

Then last month, it came to my attention that I had not lost a single pound since Emma was one week old.  What?!  That cannot be right; I mean, I am breastfeeding.  Those pregnancy pounds should have been melting off of my hips.  But this time they were not, and I was nervous they never would.  So I started learning more about AdvoCare's other products, I mean, they are a nutrition company after all.  In the process, I started learning more about health and wellness too.  The more I learned, the more I realized that I needed more than just a gym membership.

In the course of my research, Ryan and I agreed with the experts that the first thing that needed to change was the way we ate.  Sure, by today's standards, we already ate well.  We bought whole wheat bread and brown rice, but there was more.  It wasn't that we were necessarily eating unhealthy, but we were consistently overeating.  The average chicken breast that you get from the store weighs 8-10 ounces which is TWO servings.  The old Ashley would have eaten that entire breast without a second thought, but the new Ashley splits one breast into two portions.

Again, I researched though that even with a healthy diet, that I was never going to get all the vitamins, minerals and nutrients I needed to keep my body functioning at its best without taking multi-vitamins and other supplements like Omega-3s.  At the beginning of January, we started incorporating more of AdvoCare's wellness line into our routine to make sure that our metabolisms were fully supported so that our journey to a healthier weight and lifestyle wasn't any longer than it had to be.  At first I was worried that it would cost too much, but as the month has worn on, I have spent almost 25% less on groceries so that took care of itself.

Since January 1st, Ryan has shed 16 pounds, and I have lost 12 pounds ... and our fridge runneth over!  As we've made these adjustments, our appetites have shrunk so meals that used to disappear in one sitting, last two now.  I will need to start adjusting how I cook, but for this week, we're just going to re-enjoy last week's bounty!