Hello,
I have moved from blogspot to a new website.  You can now find me at foreverevolve.com


Sincerely,
Kellijo

step 3

step 3

Whole Foods

by kellijo

What has really helped me clean up the way I eat is throwing out all the processed foods such as artificial flavors and artificial colors, and started having the majority of my food intake be whole foods.  Remember I live by the 80/20 rule because I don’t have to eat perfect all of the time just 80% of the time. What are whole foods?  It pretty simple,  whole foods are those that are as close to natural as possible where nothing harmful has been added (chemical preservatives) or nothing has been taken away (striping the food of nutrients that our bodies need).  

Changing the way we eat is not easy but it can be done.  One book that I got while I was getting my degree in nutrition science is called A Whole Foods Primer.





The book really helped me to understand whole foods and why consuming them is so important.  I highly recommend reading it.  The more I understand how our bodies work and function the more I want to take care of mine.  I love myself and am very thankful for my body.  I like to show thanks by my actions.  How can I show how grateful I am for my body if I don’t take care of it?   Knowledge really is power!

                So what can you eat if you change to whole foods? Well it is really basic and simple. Whole foods are vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nutrient-dense nuts and seeds and protein.  No fast food and no already made frozen foods.

The biggest complaint I hear from people when they diet or start to change habits is that eating healthy is boring and gross.  Well if you are only eating chicken and vegies and are restricting yourself than it is boring and gross. I eat delicious foods with lots of flavor.  My kids love it when I cook.  They are always telling me that I make the best dinners. We eat pasta, steak, hamburgers, soups….the list goes on and on.  But it is lean, organic meats and whole pastas with fruits and lots of vegetables.  

When it comes to changing your diet, just start adding healthy and start the process to eliminate the bad.  Change does not always happen overnight.  It is not easy to be healthy when we live in a society that has fast food restaurants on every corner and in grocery stores. I get that fast food is convenient, easy, and cheap but the truth is that is very harmful to our bodies.  Many of the things that we buy in grocery stores is also harmful to our bodies because of the chemicals and high sodium intake.  My advice to you is to add more vegetable to your dinners.  I mean pile on those vegies and have them for every dinner.  Make fruits and nuts your snacks instead of doughnuts and chips. Eat 100% whole grains instead of white breads.  And drink water…lots of it.  When you start with little changes you will see results. Your body will start craving those healthy foods.  You will feel better about yourself and gain confidence.

I hope this helps and if you have any questions send me a message! I love to help.

Step 2: 80/20 Rule

By Kellijo

80/20 Rule

Knowing what to eat can be challenging.  Do I diet?  If I do what diet works best for me?  Well the truth is diets just don’t work.  And there is actually science to back this up.  Tracy Mann teaches psychology at the University of Minnesota and has studied dieting for the past 21 years and according to her findings, diets lead to failure. In her book "Secrets from the Eating Lab," She says that there are three biological changes that occur in our bodies when we diet.

Neurological

When you diet you start to think about food.  You obsess about it.  It is always on your mind.  After reading this I got to thinking about fasting.  Fasting is so hard for me to do.  On a normal day I can easily skip meals.  There are times when I am constantly on the go and when I look at the time I realize that half the day is gone and I haven’t eaten a thing. I don’t even think about food.  But when I have to fast it is one of the hardest things for me to do.  I recall a time when I was going to fast.  I was going to go without food and drink for two meals.  It was breakfast time and without thinking I made myself a shake like I do every day for breakfast.  As I was drinking it I was preparing a crockpot for dinner that I was going to devour after my fast.  I remember thinking that  fasting is just so hard and the day just stared and I am already miserable. I can't wait till dinner so I can eat! I  already felt dehydrated and very hungry just thinking about how I had to fast this day as I was drinking a shake.  I took me awhile before it dawned on me that I was eating while I was supposed to be fasting.  Just the thought of depriving myself of food made me miserable.

Hormones

Hormones that make you feel hungry increase and hormones that make you feel full decrease.  So you don’t feel full but you feel hungry.  That is a no win situation!

Metabolic changes

Metabolism decreases and your body learns to run on fewer calories.  This makes left over calories and when you have leftover calories your body converts them to fat..  Our body just loves to convert things to fat!

So what do you do if you shouldn’t diet?

  Have you ever heard of the 80/20 rule?  It really works and makes life easier because 80% of the time you eat clean and 20% of the time you can enjoy whatever you want. You have probably heard of cheat meals and that is what the 20% is. The 80/20 rule is not a diet it is a lifestyle change. I do not believe in depriving myself.  If I tell myself I will never drink a pop again then that is all I think about and I crave it so I drink it.  If I tell myself I will lower my carbohydrate intake then I will just overload on carbs. If I tell myself I will never eat refined sugar again…well that will never happen because I have the worst sweet tooth. This is why I love the 80/20 rule.  It lets you not be perfect.  It lets you enjoy the foods you love but shouldn’t eat or drink every day.

Example of how the 80/20 rule works

If you only eat 3 meals a day that equals 21 meals a week so 4 of those meals are your cheat meals and you can eat what you like.

If you eat 7 small meals a day that equals 49 small meals a week so 9 meals are your cheat meals and you can eat what you like.

Tips

Just because you get 4 or 7 cheat meals you still need to stay within portion sizes and try not to overindulge.   The key is always will power and portion control.

Don’t eat all of your cheat meal in one day. Don’t even have 2 cheat meals in a day. Spread it out through the week!

I hope you have enjoyed step 2.  Learning to change eating habits for the better is not the easiest but with small steps that lead to habits it can be done.  Next I will be writing on the foods we should be eating 80% of the time. If you have any questions feel free to leave a message and follow me on Instagram and Facebook for tips and encouragement!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellijo23_forever_evolve/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/foreverevlove/

Ferdman, Roberto A. ( May 4, 2015). Why diets don't actually work, according to a researcher who has studied them for decades: Article retrieved https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/05/04/why-diets-dont-actually-work-according-to-a-researcher-who-has-studied-them-for-decades/.

Step 1

By KelliJo

Changing Eating Habits Step By Step

You more than likely know this but changing eating habits is really hard to do.  How many times have you said or have heard a family member or friend say “I am trying out this diet again.  I lost weight when I did it the first time but then I gained it all back.  I am going to stick with it this time.”  I don’t know why we keep kidding ourselves with diets?  It feels good when we are losing the weight and obtaining goals but once we start to slack on the diet and gain the weight back it is devastating.  If you really want to lose the weight and keep it off you have to change your eating habits. I am constantly trying to change habits to better myself whether it is for health, nutrition, fitness, spiritual growth etc., I want to always to be striving to grow and evolve.  Hence the name of my blog Forever Evolve.  There is always room for self-improvement and growth.  While this can be overwhelming it truly is worth it.  And because I know that it is worth it I want to help you.  So through my next few blogs I am giving you my step by step guide on how I changed my eating habits.

So let’s begin!

Step 1

Goals Goals Goals!

“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.”

                                                                

                                                                                                               -Henry David Thoreau

                Why do you want to change your eating habits? Is it to lose weight?  Is it for health reasons?  Do you want to have amazing abs?  Do you want to have more energy? What is one goal that can help you change your eating habits?  If I want to change something about myself I always ask myself what NEEDS to change.  This helps me to have a clear directive on what my goal is.  For example, at this moment in my life I need to stop eating out as much as I am.  I have a rule for myself to only eat out once a week.  But over the last few months I have been eating out more and this needs to stop. So my goal will be to only eat out once a week.  So ask yourself what eating habits need to change for you and write down what your overall goal is. 

Next, I ask myself WHY.  Why am I doing this? I like to figure out the whys to my habits.  Am I over eating because I am bored?  Am I depressed so I turn to food?  Figuring out the why really helps to get to the truth of why we have this habit. So I ask myself why am I eating out more than normal? I am eating out more because I am too tired to cook dinner.  I get home and I just want to get everyone in bed so the easiest thing to do is eat out.

Now, HOW am I going to change this habit?  At this point I make a list of small goals that will help me change this habit. Small changes lead to big changes.

1.     Stop saying up late.  I average 5 to 6 hours a sleep at night.  I need to get about 8. I usually go to bed at 12 because I am watching tv.  I need to turn the tv off at 10 and go lay down.

2.    Look up 5 new dinners that are easy to prepare and make.

3.    For the next month I will try my best to only eat out 2 times a week.  Once I have succeeded in this I will then go back to once a week. 

Lastly, you have to REWARD yourself.  Once you reached your goal give yourself a pat on the back! Jump for joy! Shout it out to the world because you did it!  Now, go buy yourself a little something. Then repeat the process and find a new goal to work on.

I hope you found this to be helpful.  I would love to hear what your goals are and how you are going to achieve them.  If you liked this post do me a favor and share it! My next step will be on what foods you should be eating!  

Full Body at Home Workout

Here is my latest workout that I have been using for the last few weeks.  I love it because it is a full body workout that you can do at home and works great with a fitbit to help get your steps up.  It is a go at your own pace workout and usually takes me about an hour to complete.

What you need:

Resistant band

Dumbbells

Medicine ball (you can use dumbbells as well)

With any workout remember to take your time, breathe, and concentrate on body posture.  There is no need to rush through the workout. I hope you enjoy and let me know if you have any questions!  

Portion Distortion

By Kellijo Eccleston

Understanding correct serving sizes can be a bit confusing.  We all have heard of serving sizes and that we need to eat the correct amount of serving sizes but what is the correct amount?  Have you ever heard of the term portion distortion?  I didn’t know what that was until I was looking into serving sizes.  Portion distortion is when we eat large amount of portion sizes thinking that it is normal.    I know that I over eat and it is something that I have to work on.  But let’s face it; it is way too easy to overeat in our society because everything is oversized.  Just in the last 30 years portion sizes have increased dramatically.  In the 1980’s if you were to go to a restaurant and order fries it would have been around 210 calories.  Now it is 610 calories. Just because portion sizes of increased dramatically does not mean that our waistlines can handle it!  Check out how much these foods have changed since the 1980s.

Serving Sizes: Then and Now

Food or beverage	1980s (calories)	Today (calories)
Turkey sandwich	320 calories	820 calories
French fries	210 calories	610 calories
Bagel	140 calories	350 calories
Slice of pizza	500 calories	850 calories
Soda	85 calories	250 calories

Correct Portion Sizes: How to Keep Portion Distortion in Check  http://www.healthyeating.org/Healthy-Eating/Healthy-Living/Weight-Management/Article-Viewer/Article/348/correct-portion-sizes-how-to-keep-portion-distortion-in-check.aspx

       I for one have a hard time going out to eat and ordering anything small. I really don’t know of very many people who do go out to eat and just orders small meals or doesn’t get refills.  But we all should!  If I go to Wendy’s and get the asiago chicken ranch meal that comes with a large drink and large fries that would be 1580 calories.  The average person is on a 2100 calorie per day diet. That means I can only eat 520 more calories.  If I get the same meal in a small it is 1120 calories.  That is still a lot, it is a little better but I would still be eating 2 to 3 serving sizes in one meal!  No wonder people have a hard time losing weight. No wonder I am having a hard time losing that muffing top! You can also fall victim to portion distortion even if you didn’t eat fast food and are eating healthy.  There are certain healthy dinners that I make and I know I over eat but I have no will power.  If something is good I go crazy and eat and eat and eat.  Then I get mad at myself when I cannot lose that few pounds I have been working so hard on to lose.  You can work out at the gym everyday but if you are overeating then you will not make your goals.  Losing weight or getting amazing abs and toned body is 20% gym and 80% diet.

*I know it is not easy or realistic to eat healthy all of the time or to never over eat.  Here are some helpful ideas that I use to help me keep my portion sizes in check.

*Always order small meals when eating out.  Order off of the kids menu when you can to keep the calories down as much as possible.

*If at a restaurant ask for a to-go container before you get the meal.  When your order arrives, take at least half of the meal and put it away immediately so you do not overeat.

*Try splitting  meals with someone else.  (This is tough for me.  Anyone that knows me knows I will not split a meal but I am working on it!)

*Always pack a lunch so you do not have to go out.

*Measure out your food until you get the idea of what a serving size actually looks like

*Look at the serving size on the back of the package on everything you eat so you know how many serving sizes are actually in a package.  Don’t eat a whole bag of chips or a whole bag of candy. 

One of my favorite websites is choosemyplate.gov.  If you haven’t checked it out I would recommend that you do.  It is easy to use and you can find out what serving sizes you need in all of the food groups.  You can also use supertracker which helps you plan your diet, tracks your diet, and tracks your physical activity. But if you do not want to go to the website I have the charts right here!  I use these charts all the time.  I have them printed up in my kitchen so that everyone in the family can see how much they need to eat every day to stay healthy.  Hope this helps out you guys.  Try not to fall victim to portion distortion!  

Daily Fruit TABLE
Daily Recommendation*
Children	2-3 years old 4-8 years old	1 cup 1 to 1 ½ cups
Girls	9-13 years old 14-18 years old	1 ½ cups 1 ½ cups
Boys	9-13 years old 14-18 years old	1 ½ cups 2 cups
Women	19-30 years old 31-50 years old 51+ years old	2 cups 1 ½ cups 1 ½ cups
Men	19-30 years old 31-50 years old 51+ years old	2 cups 2 cups 2 cups

Daily Vegetable Table
Daily Recommendation*
Children	2-3 years old 4-8 years old	1 cup 1 ½ cups
Girls	9-13 years old 14-18 years old	2 cups 2 ½ cups
Boys	9-13 years old 14-18 years old	2 ½ cups 3 cups
Women	19-30 years old 31-50 years old 51+ years old	2 ½ cups 2 ½ cups 2 cups
Men	19-30 years old 31-50 years old 51+ years old	3 cups 3 cups 2 ½ cups

Daily Grain Table
		DAILY RECOMMENDATION*	Daily minimum amount of whole grains
Children	2-3 years old 4-8 years old	3 ounce equivalents 5 ounce equivalents	1 ½ ounce equivalents 2 ½ ounce equivalents
Girls	9-13 years old 14-18 years old	5 ounce equivalents 6 ounce equivalents	3 ounce equivalents 3 ounce equivalents
Boys	9-13 years old 14-18 years old	6 ounce equivalents 8 ounce equivalents	3 ounce equivalents 4 ounce equivalents
Women	19-30 years old 31-50 years old 51+ years old	6 ounce equivalents 6 ounce equivalents 5 ounce equivalents	3 ounce equivalents 3 ounce equivalents 3 ounce equivalents
Men	19-30 years old 31-50 years old 51+ years old	8 ounce equivalents 7 ounce equivalents 6 ounce equivalents	4 ounce equivalents 3 ½ ounce equivalents 3 ounce equivalents

Daily protein foods table
Daily recommendation*
Children	2-3 years old 4-8 years old	2 ounce equivalents 4 ounce equivalents
Girls	9-13 years old 14-18 years old	5 ounce equivalents 5 ounce equivalents
Boys	9-13 years old 14-18 years old	5 ounce equivalents 6 ½ ounce equivalents
Women	19-30 years old 31-50 years old 51+ years old	5 ½ ounce equivalents 5 ounce equivalents 5 ounce equivalents
Men	19-30 years old 31-50 years old 51+ years old	6 ½ ounce equivalents 6 ounce equivalents 5 ½ ounce equivalents

 

Daily Grain Table
		DAILY RECOMMENDATION*	Daily minimum amount of whole grains
Children	2-3 years old 4-8 years old	3 ounce equivalents 5 ounce equivalents	1 ½ ounce equivalents 2 ½ ounce equivalents
Girls	9-13 years old 14-18 years old	5 ounce equivalents 6 ounce equivalents	3 ounce equivalents 3 ounce equivalents
Boys	9-13 years old 14-18 years old	6 ounce equivalents 8 ounce equivalents	3 ounce equivalents 4 ounce equivalents
Women	19-30 years old 31-50 years old 51+ years old	6 ounce equivalents 6 ounce equivalents 5 ounce equivalents	3 ounce equivalents 3 ounce equivalents 3 ounce equivalents
Men	19-30 years old 31-50 years old 51+ years old	8 ounce equivalents 7 ounce equivalents 6 ounce equivalents	4 ounce equivalents 3 ½ ounce equivalents 3 ounce equivalents

Daily Dairy table
Daily recommendation
Children	2-3 years old	2 cups	Women	19-30 years old	3 cups
	4-8 years old	2 ½ cups		31-50 years old	3 cups
Girls	9-13 years old	3 cups		51+ years old	3 cups
	14-18 years old	3 cups	Men	19-30 years old	3 cups
Boys	9-13 years old	3 cups		31-50 years old	3 cups
	14-18 years old	3 cups		51+ years old	3 cups

 

Daily Allowance oils
Children	2-3 years old 4-8 years old	3 teaspoons 4 teaspoons
Girls	9-13 years old 14-18 years old	5 teaspoons 5 teaspoons
Boys	9-13 years old 14-18 years old	5 teaspoons 6 teaspoons
Women	19-30 years old 31-50 years old 51+ years old	6 teaspoons 5 teaspoons 5 teaspoons
Men	19-30 years old 31-50 years old 51+ years old	7 teaspoons 6 teaspoons 6 teaspoons