Week 1 - DONE

Well Happy Wednesday! I hope y'all are having a fantastic week so far —  I know I am!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I told myself that I would try to blog every night...but you know how that goes. I'm working on a super huge project at work right now, so that has taken the majority of my time, stress and energy. But I promise to post more!

I have to say, though, that the response I have been getting from maintaining this blog has been huge! I'm able to see the metrics on how many people visited my site and each page, and it's a lot! Like.. a lot! But it's encouraging me to keep blogging since I know people are reading.

Today marks DAY 8 of eating clean. I really can't believe I've done it, but I'm so glad I did. I started on a Wednesday, so I told myself that I would do weigh-ins every Wednesday to measure my progress. During previous times when I would diet, I would weigh myself every day to try and see immediate results. EPIC. FAIL!

RULE #1: DO NOT WEIGH YOURSELF DAILY!!!!! Trust me, it is so discouraging to work your butt off in the gym every day and then jump on the scale, only to see that you haven't lost a single pound. That's why I have given up on so many diets before. It's because I was weighing myself daily and was not impressed by the little numbers of progress.

Anyway.. today was my first weigh-in since I started eating clean, and I am down 11 pounds, y'all! I haven't seen those numbers on the scale in months, so I did my happy dance in the gym this morning.

Now, a lot of you are probably thinking... that's a whole lot of weight in 1 week. That's not healthy, right? Well, I also drink a gallon+ of water a day, so a lot of the weight I lost was water weight. From here on out, I doubt I will see that big of a loss in a week. It is my goal to lose 2 pounds per week. I've done a lot of research and that seems to be a healthy and realistic goal.

I highly recommend purchasing this Waist Trimmer Belt! It's $5 at Walmart in the workout section.

It makes you sweat like CRAZY when you are in the gym lifting weights.

I've gotten a lot of messages about the program that I am doing, and how people can get started.

It's called Jamie Eason's LiveFit 12-Week Trainer. 

Click here to check out the site.
Click here to check out the approved food list of clean eating.
Click here to check out some clean recipes.

The 12-Week Trainer is divided up into 3-LiveFit Phases:
1.) Phase 1 - Start Your Transformation With Weight Training And Clean Eating!
2.) Phase 2 - Add Cardio And Cut Carbs To Sculpt Your Muscle And Burn Body Fat!
3.) Phase 3 - HIIT Training, Carb-Cycling, Super-Setting — And Your Brand New Body!

So, once you navigate thru those links above, you will notice that she has every day lined out with what she recommends to eat and the workout that goes a long with it.

I've been following that plan word-for-word, and the results are showing! My pants are so much looser now, I have so much more energy, my complexion looks fabulous and I just feel so dang healthy now!

RULE # 2: If you are going to eat like this, YOU MUST DO SOME KIND OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY!! As I stated in one of my previous posts, eating clean is eating 5-6 small meals a day, to allow your metabolism to rise. In a typical day, I consume about 1500-1800 calories per day, but I burn it off with weight training. If you are not working out (lifting weights, walking, jogging, Zumba, etc.) and are eating that much, you are going to get bloated and will gain weight.

RULE # 3: Take a Multi-Vitamin! This will not only keep up your immune system, but it will help expedite your weight loss. I'm a sissy when it comes to swallowing pills, so I get the gummies. They are wonderful!

This was $13 on sale at Vitamin Shoppe.

RULE # 4: PREP YOUR MEALS ON SUNDAYS! If you are eating 5-6 small meals a day, you need to be prepared. Eating is like clockwork. Eat every 3 hours. Set alarms on your phones, put it in your calendars. Tell someone to text you every 3 hours. Just make sure you stay on time.

Here are a few meals that I've had over the last week.

Meal # 3 - 01-09-13 - Sweet Potato, Turkey Chili, Veggies

Meal # 2 - 01-09-13 - CARBmaster yogurt, blueberries and celery.

Meal # 4 - 01-07-13 - Turkey muffins

Meal # 5 - 01-04-13 - 6oz chicken, 3/4 cup brown rice, and broccoli.

Meal # 3 - 01-04-13 - 6 oz chicken, 3/4 cup brown rice, and veggies.

Meal # 4 - 01-02-13 - 3 rice cakes with PB2 and 3 oz chicken.

Meal # 1 - 01-09-13 - 5 egg white halves, 3/4 cup of Kashi cereal, blueberries and blackberries.

I hope that gives a little more insight into eating clean. To keep up with what I'm eating at every meal, follow me on instagram! @brittanybellair

If you have any more questions, feel free to contact me. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, email, text.. whatever!

Have a great night y'all! :)