Turning TEMPTATION into TRIUMPH.

"If It doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you"

This past year has been all about challenges for me. Life has been challenging me in so many ways I never thought possible, but yet here I am. Still kicking. 

Most of us are faced with temptations on a daily basis; whether it be that chocolate cake or a much greater temptation, it doesn't matter really... the outcome is still the same. 

Guilt.

You know you shouldn't, but you did so now what?

The only thing to do is to set about making it right. Just because you chose the chocolate cake over your regular go-to healthy oatmeal breakfast option doesn't mean your entire day is ruined. Make it right; make sure you get in an extra 20 minutes at the gym, and vow to eat better the rest of the day. 

So how do you make sure you won't continue to make this choice every single day? 

You change.

You challenge yourself each and every morning to eat right and eat better. 

Eventually it gets easier.

You become a different person, really. You've been forced to. The pain of eating the donut will eventually become so unbearable (or unhealthy) that you are left with no choice. 

This was something I had to learn the hard way. I had to re-learn how to eat, learn how to exercise, learn to push myself even when I wanted to give up; I had to learn to say no to things I knew were only going to hurt me in the end. It may seem like everything is all fun and games when you're out with your friends and everyone's indulging in deliciously greasy food...but if you know it isn't right for you, then why is it so hard to say no? We don't have to all be alike. Just because Susan can eat an entire cake and stay at 130lbs, doesn't mean we can. Sometimes we have to face the fact that we made choices that led us to where we are and that's what makes us different from our friends right now. 

One of the hardest things I've faced this last year was dealing with the outcome of the choices I made when giving in to all the tempations of the world. 

Obviously, I'm not just talking about food.

But I am going to continue to talk about food, because it's one temptation I may have conquered. I have learned to love healthy food. To stop thinking about all the things I can't eat and start loving all the things I can. I get a lot of questions about what I eat, so I thought I'd share a few of my favorite healthy meals. 

First and foremost, I freaking love breakfast. It's always been my favorite meal of the day, but now I am really obsessed. If I could eat breakfast foods all day I would, and most days, I do end up eating breakfast foods for lunch :)

So today, we're just talking about breakfast. Because I like it. And I could talk about breakfast all day long. 

My favorite breakfast foods:

Easy peasy:

Scrambled eggs + 

Multigrain toast with peanut butter,blueberries and 1/2 banana.

Ways to change it up:

I try to only eat peanut butter on strength training days, so on off days, I'll choose either coconut oil or almond butter. You can also cook your eggs differently. Personally, if I make overeasy eggs, I like to have toast with coconut oil. So yummy.

This is seriously my all time favorite breakfast though and perfect for morning workouts, strength training days, or even a post workout meal.

(Not my lowest calorie option, just FYI)

!/2 cup Greek Yogurt, sprinkled with dry oats and a tiny sprinkle of granola + blueberries & bananas

This is a very simple, clean and easy breakfast. 

Greek Yogurt + Granola + Strawberries + Blueberries

Change it up by changing the kind of fruit you use each week or changing the flavor of your Greek Yogurt. I usually use Plain because I typically get flavor from the extras I add in, but I have tried the Vanilla as well.

I have actually managed to cut my coffee intake almost entirely. I rarely drink coffee in the morning these days and when I do it is in the afternoon after a workout, usually on the weekends or on a "rest day".

Vanilla flavored low-fat Greek Yogurt + Vanilla Almond Granola

Oatmeal + 1 scoop protein powder + 1 tablespoon of brown sugar

 Ways to change up your oatmeal:

Add fruit. ANY KIND IS SO GOOD.

Add protein powder. 

Of course, there are tons of other options out there too. I recently tried protein powder pancakes and they were pretty delicious. I'm going to continue to look into more protein packed breakfasts and see what I can find. 

When I was working I bought a To-Go container (we got ours at Target). That way when you're running late you're not forced to skip breakfast, stop somewhere like McDonald's or overindulge on the pastries at Starbucks. That pastry case is a whole hell of temptation for me. I don't even go in anymore (for several reasons, mainly being that I try not to bring my kids in public when I don't have to...haha............. just kidding).

When I was working early morning shifts, Starbucks was a great place for me to get a healthy breakfast when I was running late. Their "perfect" oatmeal is a perfect serving and you pick and choose what you add to your oatmeal. Plus they have bananas, and of course coffee :)

I'll have to start exploring some more quick and easy/ on the go options shortly because it looks like my mornings are going to be full again ;)

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!