Personal Blog

  • Personal Blog

    How to make delicious and clean protein bars at home!

    Make Your Own Protein Bars At Home. So Many Flavor Combinations: Recipes Below!

    Do you struggle getting enough protein in your diet? Do you have a lot of tubs of protein powder to use but no idea what to do with it? Do you NOT love the idea of chugging protein shakes all day? 
    Well, you might want to consider making some of these delicious and clean (NOTE: not calorie free- please please please be sure you calculate your nutrition info so you can hit your caloric window and not exceed it!) protein bars (or other protein recipes I have linked at the bottom)–homemade protein bars: they are sweet, portable, and there are so many flavor and texture combinations, you are set for variety….I can’t wait to hear some of your tweaks on this homemade protein bar recipe!
     

    Protein bars can be made at home with just a few ingredients (you probably already have most in your pantry!). As with protein bites, you can customize them to your taste. The best part is – these bars are not an exact science! So, no pressure! There’s no such thing as a batch that didn’t turn out right. Just play around with the ingredients and flavors to find what you like best.
     
    For a Basic batch of Protein Bars:
    Dry ingredients:
    1) 2 cups whey protein powder (vanilla or chocolate work best– I’m happy to make recommendations for you and you can order solid whey protein from me if you need help just email me kelly@kellyolexa.com) For today’s recipe I used chocolate whey protein.
    2) 1 cup of dry oats (I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Old-Fashioned Oats. Once I did some reading about Quaker Oats containing massive amounts of roundup in them– and after getting BAD stomach-aches having said oats in the morning — and then the stomach aches stopping when I removed the said oats– I upgraded to cleaner oats. Don’t get me wrong- I get it, they are significantly more expensive, but come on- do you want to consume pesticides every day in your oats?)
    Sticky ingredients:
    1 3/4 cups of the nut butter of your choice (I used Justin’s Almond Butter— next time I’m going for the Justin’s Peanut Butter– personal preference)
    1 1/3 cup of honey ( currently obsessing over this honey right now) – or another sticky sweetener
    Make Your Own Protein Bars
    Directions– mix together dry ingredients and set aside.
    Make Your Own Protein Bars
    Microwave the nutter butter and the sticky sweetener for about 10 seconds to make for easier mixing. (Please be careful and don’t be an idiot like me and put the jar of almond butter in the microwave- mine sparked and almost exploded good times) Blend together the sticky sweetener and nut butters. I recommend using your food processor. It’s funny, because when I moved from Chicago to Austin- I sold a TON of my old STUFF- I wanted to start fresh with new furniture and everything– plus, less to move (so I thought: good grief the size of my moving truck AFTER selling a lot of my stuff was massive! But I digress, I still am so glad I purged and started fresh in Texas.) I remember offering my Cuisinart Food Processor for sale but it didn’t sell. I’m so glad I didn’t sell it because let me tell you- now that I make these types of recipes and now that both the man and I cook a lot together- I am telling you- I use the food processor now more than I ever have in my life!!
     Here’s a link for you in case you don’t have one– CLICK HERE to the one I have and you can check around to view other brands as well. 
     
    Now combine the dry and wet ingredients. If you find it too loose and not mixing well, add a tablespoon of water or even almond milk, more if you need it. Conversely, if it’s too wet of a mixture, then add a bit more of the dry ingredients. You get the idea. It’s trial and error – and you may like a slightly different consistency to your bars then the next person. Spread the mixture into a square baking dish and chill overnight. This recipe makes about 20 bars (square sized). NOTE: I put this into a 9×9 pan and the bars are TALL/THICK. See below- the ingredients came all the way up to the top I am going to try making these in a longer rectangle pan and make flatter bars. You’ll also see a version of this recipe coming up so you can make protein balls out of it as well. 
    If you’re adding extras, like chia or flax seeds, or dried fruit, you’ll add those to the sticky ingredients and prior to combining with the dry ingredients. After making this recipe, I’m thinking for my next go-round I’ll use VANILLA WHEY PROTEIN plus PEANUT BUTTER vs. almond butter. I also plan to try adding some white chocolate chips (being sure to measure the chips so I can calculate the macros and count the calories) with some coconut flakes. MMMMM. 
    Word to the wise- these bars are not a low calorie snack. Watch your portion size – and keep them in mind for a great post workout or post run snack. Experiment and enjoy! If you liked this post, it’s likely you’ll want to check out this post with recipes for DELISH protein balls. CLICK HERE. And I’m fairly certain you’ll be drooling once you check out my post on sweet tooth satisfaction- clean healthified versions of desserts and snacks– CLICK HERE.
    If you are tuning in here and seeing me talk about counting calories and caloric deficit, and you are like HOLY HELL KELLY why you sharing sweet recipes like this when I’m supposed to count calories? I am happy to help you with a customized diet plan and/or workout plan to help you get where you want to be. I start new private groups for a small group of women I can personally coach each month. Email me if you want more information on group coaching experiences with me or private coaching! kelly @ kellyolexa.com or just use the Contact Me form.

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    AFFILIATE DISCLAIMER

    Note: this blog contains affiliate links that allow you to find the items mentioned in this post and support this channel at no cost to you. While this channel may earn minimal sums when a viewer uses the links provided, the view is in NO WAY obligated to use these links. Thank you for your support.

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  • Personal Blog

    The Top 20 Healthy Eats To Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth!

    Got a Sweet Tooth? Here are my Top 20 Favorite Clean Eating Desserts and Snacks.

    “Oh, those donuts don’t look tempting to me at all.”

    Said NO ONE. Ever.

    If you are like 99.9% of us, you’ve got a sweet tooth. And it sometimes feels like it’s a dirty word or phrase right? No one wants to say it, “I’ve got a sweet tooth big time…”– well, we are here to take away the shame and tell you to embrace that love of all things delectably delicious and SWEET. You want savory? That’s another post. This post is dedicated to our sweet tooths- and read on because we are sharing some of our favorite FINDS – products we’ve tasted (again, and again, and then, again and again…..you get the idea) and can heartily recommend, as well as some insanely enticing recipes by some of our best and most favorite foodie bloggers–they slay us with their compelling creations every week.

    Please note, this post contains affiliate links. 

    via GIPHY

    That would be us every time they put up a new instagram post. For reals. How do they do it??

    One of our very own team members has become an amazing legit foodie– Ms. Lauren Fischer. You can follow her on instagram (HINT she’s launching a new blog about her foodie obsessions soon!) at @laurenfischereats.

    Here is her contribution to today’s Sweet Tooth Snacks List: CHOCOLATE AVOCADO TRUFFLES.

    Recipe:

    1/2 Avocado

    2 TBS Cocoa Powder

    3 TBS Maple Syrup

    2 TBS Melted Coconut Oil

    2 TBS Melted Dark Chocolate

    Blend all together. Scoop onto parchment lined baking sheet, freeze for 1 hour and then form into balls. Coat with more cocoa powder and refrigerate.

    Amen.

    Photo Source: NadaMoo

    Friends, if you like ice cream, get ready to weep with joy. NadaMoo has some of the most delightful, taste-bud pleasing frozen creations- and BONUS– they are DAIRY FREE for those of you like me with dairy sensitivities or needing to avoid dairy for autoimmune issues. The flavor on the right is my personal favorite and I cannot tell you how often Amazon Prime Now has delivered this to me for my eating pleasure. It delivers a LOT of pleasure my friends. They have a TON of flavors, I’ve loved the pistachio, maple pecan, salted caramel…and several others. (For some reason I feel like that song by Willie Nelson should be playing but instead of “To all the girls I’ve loved before….” it would be “To all the NadaMoo flavors I’ve loved thus far….”). Now. Sit down for this part.

    MOST PINTS ARE LESS THAN 600 CALORIES TOTAL.

    via GIPHY

    You’re welcome. People- you GOTTA treat yoself to some NadaMoo. You will become obsessed. I promise.

    You know what goes well with frozen icy creamy treats?

    Bourbon.

    But also- brownies. And the photo above is an extreme close-up of the DELIGHTFUL brownies from Flax4Life. This is another one of my Amazon Prime Now discoveries (Damn You Amazon!!). My manfriend and I order these and keep several containers in the fridge. We’ll often not get dessert at a restaurant and come home and have a few of these bad boys– only 140 calories each! WHAT??? And when you heat them up in the microwave, OMG it’s Slap Yo Mama good!!! Might I suggest serving 1 or 2 of these with a serving of NadaMoo? Not that I’ve tried that or anything. Just saying.

    Here is what the packaging looks like- so if you order online or from their website, you can pick the right one.

    Oh Heavens to Betsy! They are also GLUTEN FREE?? AND Dairy Free!!! Great Balls of Fire!! You’re welcome. I implore you to treat yourself to some of these and feel free to ship some to me as well.

    Now let’s move on to something warm, and breakfasty. I mean, who doesn’t love breakfast?

    Folks, I do not recall how I stumbled on this brand but WOW. These Paleo Pancakes are AMAZING!!! Birch Benders, you complete me. I even have my parents making these and loving them. Pro Tip: Get yourself a Perfect Pancake Pan on Amazon to make the perfect sized pancakes. And might I recommend– the best sugar free syrup to top these off?

    I have been addicted to this Walden Farms Sugar Free Pancake Syrup for years. And here’s another hint: this is also FANTASTIC to put on top of sweet potatoes! Which, hello, why don’t I share a little “recipe” with you? Take sweet potatoes and bake them (I bake several at at time: 425 degrees for an hour and 15 or so.) then store them in your fridge. Take them out, slice them (measure and weigh them first if you are counting macros!) and then heat up some coconut oil in a saucepan on the stove. Add your sliced sweet potatoes (in round slices, do not slice length-wise) in the coconut oil and sprinkle with a lot of cinnamon. Turn over — I like to let them get really browned and crispy. Remove from pan and add your Walden Farms Syrup and maybe a bit more cinnamon. DIVINE. Learn about all the other Walden Farms products at their website. CLICK HERE.

    I feel I should insert a drumroll here. Because- get ready for this. This woman, whose blog you should subscribe to immediately- took the Birch Benders Paleo Pancakes UP 2,000 notches. As I was googling– I found this via her site, ReformationHealth.com

    OHHHHH MYYYY LORRRRDDDD~!!!

    Are you drooling yet? She calls this recipe Bunny Crack Pancakes and you can find the recipe by heading to her site: CLICK HERE.

    I may need a moment to recover from looking at this photo. Seriously. My idea of getting creative is adding flavored syrup on my cakes and look what she did! Amazing!

    All this pancake talk made me think of my latest coffee creation. I have been OBSESSED – more than ever- with my coffee, ever since upgrading to a Nespresso. (Hint. Best Gift Idea EVER for anyone who loves coffee.)

    I can blame my BFF Amanda Tress because she posted HER coffee coming out of her new Nespresso every morning on instagram and I lost it. I bought one. Then I bought my man one. He’s obsessed. Then I bought my parents one. OBSESSED. Get yourself one now and I promise you, game over for all other coffee machines. Ever.

    So- I make a cup of Nespresso. I add Torani Sugar Free Syrups– for Fall, I go CRAZY- I have been adding two flavors- Pumpkin Pie and Salted Caramel!!!! OMG!! Check out these sampler packs for Fall and Winter you can get. Yes, I got both of them.

    Above is the Fall selection: CLICK HERE to treat yoself. And then, you might as well….

    Get the Winter Selection too: CLICK HERE. You’re welcome. Also go to their site, they have a whole RECIPE section!

    So, I make the coffee. I add Pumpkin Pie and Salted Caramel Sugar Free Syrups. I add some Stevia – and then sprinkle in some Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Pie Spice (stock up when you go- trust me). Then I add the steamed milk (we use Blue Diamond 30-Calorie Almond Milk) and stir and I am soon delivered to another land of sublime peace and happiness. (Side note: I always also add collagen to my coffee, but that’s not the sweet part. It does add a nice dose of protein and ladies, it helps your hair and nails grow like a boss. I use Vital Proteins and you can get (shocking) on Amazon by clicking here.)

    Next. Let’s dive in to some more recipes shall we. Be prepared to be in awe.

    OH LORD HELP ME.

    Almond Joy Coconut Butter Cups from Lee at FitFoodieFinds. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? She is amazing….if you are not subscribed to her blog you will be. You can find the recipe over there by clicking here. I don’t know about you but I am a huge fan of Almond Joy and I am so making these this weekend!!

    Next up we have Monique’s Chewy Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies. Does it get any more Fall than that? OMG. Recipe on her site: click here.

    I die. I truly die.

    Lastly I am going to share some sweet treats that are truly personal to both me and to Lauren, featured above.

    Lauren ALWAYS tells me to go get these Hail Merry treats in bulk. She was not joking. Once I tried, I died. You want to try a sampler pack? You’re welcome: click here. And then, I told HER, “GIRL you gotta try these Better Bites mini-cupcakes……OMG.” She did. She loved. She’s obsessed.

    And then I recall it was Amanda Tress who got me hooked on Justin’s Peanut Butter Cups. Holy Cow. Amazing. Dark Chocolate or Milk Chocolate. You choose. These are my favorites:

    You need it bad right now don’t you? I understand. Click here to treat yoself. 

     

    How to Make a Chocolate Mug Cake With Frosting That Will Make You Weep With Joy.

    If you have yet to make yourself a MUG CAKE– girl, you gotta get with it. What I love about mug cakes is – it’s usually a serving size for one person. So you aren’t stuck with a whole cake in your fridge calling out to you after you make it. (Remember that scene in Sex & The City where Miranda goes in the trash to eat more cake? been there. Done that many many times.)

    I have lots of favorite mug cake recipes but the one above I got from this fine blogger: CLICK HERE. Now- with this recipe, I didn’t use Nutella for the middle. I put semi-sweet chocolate CHUNKS as you can see in the photo above. Now, this mug cake was nice and chocolatey rich all on its own. You could add some NADAMOO or HaloTop ice cream on the top – OR, you can add some FROSTING because why the hell not? I made a simple white frosting with butter/powdered sugar/almond milk and mixed it in– while the mug cake was hot- and both the man and I were like OH HELL YEA.

    You know you want it. Don’t you? Here’s the thing. What I’ve learned about weight loss is- if you’ve been reading my blog lately (posts like THIS and THIS and THIS and THIS where I detail how I’m losing weight and still loving life) — then you know I’m SEEING RESULTS but also enjoying eating sweets and having adult beverages– in other words, I’m all about finding a way to DIET but still enjoy life along the way. The key is – you gotta DIET. But if you DIET RIGHT you can still have sweets– you just GOTTA TRACK WHAT YOU EAT. Without even looking at the recipe for the mug cake above- it’s a good size and it’s so sweet, Steve and I could easily split one mug cake (seriously- especially with the frosting on it)  — I’d estimate 300-400 calories if we split it, each. I aim for 1600 calories a day- on my “high” normal days (meaning not my cheat day)- so if you have a sweet treat like this, just KNOW that it’s about 1/4 of your daily caloric load, possibly. JUST ACCOUNT FOR IT. My other tip: don’t eat sweets on an empty stomach. I’m all about not snacking BUT having sweets as DESSERT– this way, you eat a meal first and you likely won’t pig out as much! See how that works?

    Here are some other sweet recipes== one is an Acai Bowl which really- should be done as a MEAL. Let me be clear these can be high calorie but also filled with nutrition– so get your sweet tooth on and enjoy. CLICK HERE to read my post with my favorite Acai Protein Bowl Recipe. And– something I make ALL THE TIME for my man and I are clean eats peanut butter balls or cookie dough balls. There are so many easy to make recipes like this and just keep the balls in the fridge but again- BE AWARE OF CALORIES. Most of the recipes I make are 125-150 per ball. My man and I try to have no more than 2 at a time, maybe 3. We’ll have more than 2 if it’s cheat day. 😉 CLICK HERE to read my post with recipes and lots of options. 

    Stock up on these Sweet Treats NOW.

    These Gluten Free Donuts by Katz are DANG GREAT. Kinda dangerous. CLICK HERE to buy.  If you like salty-dark-chocolate goodness get you some of these bars; CLICK HERE. This company also makes some GRAIN FREE COOKIES that are legit amazing, even my husband likes them: CLICK HERE to buy. (Check out the other flavors too!)

    I tried these NUSH bars when I got a Keto Krate box delivered and wow just wow (more on Keto Krate in an upcoming post- even though I am not keto, (Update: as of 2021 I am now KETO!!) I love them for finding great new sweets that are gluten free/paleo friendly) . GET SOME NOW– try all the flavors they are AMAZING!!!

    I also discovered Smart Cakes through Keto Krate and they are so delicious I honestly don’t know how they do it because these cakes are also very low calorie. 

    Lastly- this might not seem like a sweet thing to you but I recently discovered Canyon Bakehouse Gluten Free Bakery- and their bagels are to die for. Considering they have Sweet Hawaiian Bread— let me dare you to make FRENCH TOAST with this stuff. You’re welcome.

    So- what sounds good to you? What favorites do you have that you recommend? Do tell. 

    AFFILIATE DISCLAIMER

    Note: this blog contains affiliate links that allow you to find the items mentioned in this post and support this channel at no cost to you. While this channel may earn minimal sums when a viewer uses the links provided, the view is in NO WAY obligated to use these links. Thank you for your support.

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  • Personal Blog

    How I Cured My Insulin Resistance Naturally.

    Learn how I cured my insulin resistance by changing what I ate every day.

    how I cured my insulin resistance
    Do you have insulin resistance? If you are looking for ways to cure it, you’ve come to the right place. In this blog post, I’m sharing how I cured my insulin resistance by changing my diet. Doing so helped me lose 10 pounds FAST. When I consider how simple it was – the fact that I cured my insulin resistance so easily by tweaking my diet, I’m amazed that in the years that followed, I did go back to eating the way I used to. I did not take insulin resistance seriously enough. I wish I did – because it came back to haunt me. In fact, it is now the PRIMARY FOCUS of my diet/health- my insulin resistance and so I have not only done what I detail in this post, but I’ve gone full-on keto to address my insulin resistance. I’ll link up those posts at the end of this post so you can dive into those as well. This post was written when I was first diagnosed with insulin resistance and it talks about the changes I made and how back then I cured my insulin resistance. You can catch up with what I’m doing now to crush insulin resistance– at the bottom of this post. 
    (Please note: This post was originally published by me on my blog several years ago. Since I re-launched KellyOlexa.com and moved from Squarespace to WordPress, I made the decision to leave behind my old content. I’m picking up select posts and re-publishing them here, with relevant updates.)
    I am not going to try and include everything in this post- because there is so much information and so many resources I have utilized in my learning and educating myself and this was a process- all started earlier this year when I got my blood-work done and when I first met with Dr. Riske out in Arizona. The bio-identical hormonal replacement treatment process was the impetus for a lot of massive change in my life. I mean, heck, I am NOT all about putting this much money in to treatment, only to be careless in the rest of my life and ignore things that are contributing to the problem.
    AIN’T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT.
    So, here are my TIPS – for any of you that think you have these issues or you KNOW you have it. DISCLOSURE: I am not a doctor, lawyer, dentist, trainer, nutritionist, holistic healer, or anything official. But I am awesome. 😉 I am not PRESCRIBING anything for you or telling you what to do but sharing my TIPS– please, consult a doctor with expertise in this area.
    Find a doctor in your area or – do what I did, I was recommended to Dr. Riske by my trainer Whitney and I ended up flying to Phoenix to meet with him after my blood-work. FIND A SPECIALIST. If you go to your OB/GYN or primary care doc and think you can ask them to guide you in this area when they have not educated themselves and trained themselves on these things you are WASTING YOUR TIME. I have been there, done that. I was prescribed medication that DRAMATICALLY WORSENED MY HORMONAL SITUATION AND CAUSED MUCH OF MY INSULIN RESISTANCE AND HYPOTHYROIDISM. (The Pill, Antibiotics, Accutane, Spironolactone and more.) <–NOTE you can do what I did, do a PHONE CONSULT with Dr. Riske, have him prescribe the blood-work, get that done in your area and then you choose if you fly in to PHX to consult with him, I highly recommend it and who doesn’t want to go to PHX? 😉
    FIRST: I got blood-work done. KEY FACTOR: you cannot just go to any doctor and ask for bloodwork- they will likely give you a blood-work order that tests for very basic things. See #1 for why it’s important to get a SPECIALIST in this area. THERE IS NO WAY TO ADDRESS YOUR HEALTH ISSUES IN THIS AREA- IN MY OPINION – WITHOUT YOUR BLOOD-WORK. I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH– OTHERWISE YOU ARE GUESSING AND YOU WILL WASTE YEARS LIKE I DID!! DO NOT DO THAT TO YOURSELF!!! INVEST IN YOUR HEALTH IT WILL BE THE BEST THING YOU HAVE DONE, TRUST ME.
    I took the time to dive in to my blood-work results and learn how to read them. The more you can understand all this stuff while you are getting treatment and working on lifestyle changes, the more you will succeed. Become your own healthcare advocate. ASK QUESTIONS and start getting comfortable READING AND RESEARCHING. Don’t think you are limited by what your doctor/specialist tells you- a lot of what I ended up changing was due to my own research and I shared it with my doctor and he agreed/approved it. But it was my research and suggestion, which happened after Valerie Waters was in town and observed a few healthy things I was eating that she was all like “um, if I had insulin resistance I would not be eating that Ezekiel Bread with your eggs…” GULP. 
    SECOND: I started Bio-Identical Hormonal Replacement Treatment. It was not as expensive as I thought and it is changing my health in every way – and every day, every week, it compounds and accumulates.
    THIRD: RESEARCH. I started reading and still am reading every book in print, every eBook there is on INSULIN RESISTANCE, METABOLIC SYNDROME, PCOS, HYPOTHYROID, ADRENAL FATIGUE, you name it. I took notes, I observed and wrote down the common themes. I read the books my doctor recommended to me. 
    I took the common themes and recommendations from all the sites/eBooks/books/articles and then started incorporating those in to my diet and workout practices- really MOST of the stuff was about DIET and a small amount was about additional supplementation.
    SPECIFICALLY- WHAT DID I CHANGE IN MY DIET?
    1) I CUT OUT EZEKIEL BREAD, WHICH I WAS HAVING EVERY DAY AT BREAKFAST. (it’s NOT gluten-free– doesn’t mean it’s “bad” but for insulin resistance and for me, who is very sensitive at this time to wheat/gluten, I need to cut it out)
    2)WHEN I FIRST STARTED BHRT I CUT OUT SPLENDA AND DIET SODA- SWITCHED TO STEVIA.  I CUT OUT THE FAKE CREAMER IN MY COFFEE AND SWITCHED TO MY OWN VERSION OF BULLETPROOF COFFEE. 
    3) I CUT OUT ALL RICE. I WAS SOMEWHAT REGULARLY HAVING SUSHI AND I WAS SO BORED WITH GETTING ONLY SALMON SASHIMI I HAD EXPANDED MY MENU SELECTIONS AND WOULD GET SOME ROLLS. (At the time of writing this post, I was having sushi regularly so it was a lot of white rice every week- I’m ok having sushi in moderate amounts now)
    4) I CUT OUT ALL POTATOES. SOME SOURCES SAY SWEET POTATOES ARE OK, BUT FOR NOW I AM NOT HAVING ANY. 
    5) I HAD ALREADY CUT OUT “FAKE FOODS” BUT FOR NOW THIS MEANS EVEN PROTEIN POWDERS AND PRE-WORKOUTS (I ONLY HAVE SHAKEOLOGY NOW AND FEEL 100% OK WITH THAT BECAUSE IT’S LIKE HEALTH AND LOVE IN A GLASS AND CONTAINS ALL THE VITAMINS AND ANTIOXIDANTS THAT ARE IDEAL FOR MY CONDITIONS) LET ME TELL YOU HOW MUCH I MISS MY PRE-WORKOUT SHAKE WITH THE ICY BLUE RAZZ IN IT. OMG. BUT MY RESULTS AND MY HEALTH ARE MORE IMPORTANT.
    6) I NOW BUY ONLY ORGANIC MEAT — ALWAYS HAD USED EGGLAND’S BEST EGGS ONLY, BUT WITH CHICKEN OR FISH OR MEAT- ORGANIC, WILD, GRASS FED BLAH BLAH BLAH.
    7) I DO NOT OBSESS ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF PROTEIN I AM EATING. I FOCUS ON REASONABLE 4 OZ PORTIONS BUT I AM NOT EATING 6 MEALS LIKE I USED TO.
    8) I EAT TRAIL MIX (MEASURED), NATURAL ALMOND BUTTER OR PEANUT BUTTER.
    9) PLANTAIN CHIPS ARE LIKE MY FOOD SAVIOR. SERIOUSLY SUCH A GREAT CARB SUBSTITUTE AND GREAT WITH GUACAMOLE AND OR SALSA. I EAT THESE DAILY.
    10) I FOCUS ON LOW-GLYCEMIC FRUITS. I USE AN APP ON MY PHONE CALLED MY GI WHICH MAKES IT EASY TO LOOK UP.
    11) I DO NOT IN ANY WAY GO FOR ANYTHING LO FAT– I EAT HEALTHY FATS LIKE COCONUT OIL, PEANUT BUTTER, AVOCADO, GHEE, OLIVE OIL ETC.
    12) I CUT CORN IN ALL FORMS.
    13) I CAN EAT LEGUMES.
    14) HAVEN’T HAD HUMMUS IN AGES.

     

    15) I EAT A LOT OF SALADS WITH REAL DRESSING. (no fat-free stuff) 
    I LISTEN TO WHAT MY BODY WANTS. 
    I EAT WHEN I AM HUNGRY, NOT BY WATCHING THE CLOCK.
    I HAVE NO ALCOHOL. (ALSO CANNOT DO THIS WHILE TAKING METFORMIN) <– NOTE, I am no longer on Metformin, and I do have alcohol probably 1x a week MAYBE 2x and we are talking I have usually 1 drink 2 max.
    I TAKE MY VITAMINS & Supplements.
    I DRINK A GALLON OF WATER A DAY.
     
    Let me keep it real for you. On one hand, it’s not NATURALLY EASY to cut out all these foods. I’ve also since had bloodwork done and a food reactivity test done by Oxford Technologies (stay tuned, they’ll be interviewed on the podcast shortly– you’ll want to get this test done trust me) which showed I should be avoiding CORN at all costs, followed by Wheat, Yeast, Soy, Flax, Bananas, Mangoes, Turkey, Brussel Sprouts, Zucchini, Onions, Peppers and Cauliflower! So that added to my list. But- on the other hand, this earth is FILLED with so many amazing foods and hello PINTEREST is filled with like a bajillion great tasting healthy recipes using all kinds of ingredients that I CAN HAVE!! The way I see it, now is the time to EMBRACE THE CHALLENGE. Why not go for it- take time to investigate new recipes = for example – before I ever tried an Acai Bowl– I had NO IDEA WHAT I WAS MISSING. Amazing tasting bowl of delish- and it’s “superfoods”! 
    This is my mindset for taking my health and hormonal happiness up even more notches. I’ve come this far. I’m no longer insulin resistant, no longer on Metformin, but I still deal with Hashimoto’s- more on that in posts to come. Bottom line is, I have learned so much in the past couple of years and seen so much change in my life when I change my DIET, MY VITAMINS/SUPPLEMENTS and my Stress/sleep/lifestyle– let’s just say IT’S WORTH PURSUING. I am 51 years old now and look and feel better than I did at age 25. That’s worth it. And I plan to look and feel better each year going forward (with a little help from Botox and fillers as well let’s keep it real) 
    I’m still on BHRT and would never go off it. I still get bloodwork done 2x a year- ideally I’ll get it done 4x a year going forward. Hormonal balance CHANGES EVERYTHING. 
    What questions do YOU have about hormones? About insulin resistance? About hypothyroidism? Let me know so I can cover it here and on the podcast! 

    But Wait There's MORE!

    But Wait Theres More

    Now that you’ve come this far, there are some more current blog posts, podcasts and videos you should check out. Like I mentioned, this original post was written when I was first diagnosed with insulin resistance– and all these tips are relevant. But fast forward to today, I am now 6 months in to the biggest weight loss transformation of the past decade– and working with the best functional medicine doctor EVER and I’ve learned that going KETO is the MIRACLE SOLUTION for most women aged 40+ with insulin issues– and that a vast majority of women aged 40+ who are going into perimenopause probably have insulin issues sooooooo– you get what I’m throwing down. Keto + fasting is your new best friend and I am walking living breathing proof: I lost 35 inches and 28 pounds since June 1st!~ Check out these links: MY KETO TRANSFORMATION: CLICK HERE. THE TOP 10 KETO MYTHS DEBUNKED click here.  VIDEO: MY 6-MONTH KETO TRANSFORMATION click here. VIDEO What I eat on Keto: CLICK HERE. And pick up my FREE KETO KWIK START EBOOK: click here.

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