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Healthier Lifestyle Tips

Weekly Reflections: Highs And Lows From This Week & Weekly Goals For Next Week, 5/4-5/10!

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Hello again, savvy savers! I wanted to end my weekly posts by bring the week to a close with a post about the reflections on this past week.

The highs for the week:

Starting an online ETSY store!
Making new friends on my blog.
Finishing three review novels; these reviews can be found here!
Losing two pounds.
Trying to expand my family!
The ongoing repurposing of two rooms in my home.
Continuing a daily devotional.
Surviving the storms of this past week, without any harm to my family, furbabies, home, or property!
Hubby cleaned the roof and gutters!

My lows for the week:

Stress from a certain family members illness; in-home Alzheimer’s related illness progression. Learning to juggle this stress, and provide geriatric care, while only being 31, and trying have my own homelife is a daily fight.

My quote for the week:

“Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living.” -Mother Jones

My inspiration for the week:

Being able to recycle 90% of my weekly trash!

My humor for the week:

Sitting in my back hallways, signing Harry Belafonte to my family, to calm the nerves of those listening to the sirens of the local tornado warning towers blaring; this distraction was greatly needed, and thankfully worked!

Goals For The Coming Week:

Lose 1 pound, organize my office files, organize my family safe, files, and tax/bill books, walk the dogs 1/2 mile a day, have all blog assignments done on time, take one hour for myself each night, and sleep 7 hours nightly!

Happy Sunday!

Freecycle Exercise Equipment!

eating_budget

Hello again, savvy savers! Today I am starting another new blog series, Battle Of The Bulge, Budget-Style! I will be focusing on ways to live a healthier, more active lifestyle while be able to afford clean, organic, obtainable foods! I believe this series can be worthwhile for many, who like myself, wish to get more in shape, not through crash-dieting but by small attainable lifestyle changes!  All of the changes I propose will be free or affordable, and most meals and plans will contain couponed savings or deals! Fads are fancy, but coupons are a commitment! With that said, here is where I am currently: I have a family history of high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer. I am looking to lose 60lbs., find affordable non-gym membership options for working out, and change the way I consume food; this includes meals, snacks, and splurges!

Today I am 31 years young, I am 5’6”, and weigh 197 lbs; I am down tw0 pounds since last week. I walk my dogs but beyond this am not terribly active. My lifestyle causes sedentary behaviors; I work-from-home, blog, run two internet businesses, and perform advocacy work online as well. I am an internet-based excuser! Today finds my continued yoga, meditation, walking my dogs, using a pedometer, portioning my meals, and now I also measure myself monthly!

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For today’s sixth installment in this series, I want to discuss exercise, and in particular, exercise equipment.  My husband has been an avid gym user for years, but I myself do not like exercising in small-confined space with others, and so I began to look for alternatives. Recently, I started noticing that on my local Freecycle groups page that so many were getting rid of exercise equipment, and so my deab hubby graciously went locally to pick-up two pieces of equipment for me, a like-new elliptical machine and stationary bike. I have started using these items daily, and it has been so fun!  I use it daily, in addition to walking, and tennis, and have noticed how much better I feel after doing so! What’s even funnier, is that almost daily someone in my Freecycle group is again, giving away this type of equipment as well! I would recommend everyone, with small allowing, to check out you local Freecycle group, and see what you can score!

Here’s to your health!

Weekly Reflections: Highs And Lows From This Week & Weekly Goals For Next Week!

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Hello again, savvy savers! I wanted to end my weekly posts by bring the week to a close with a post about the reflections on this past week.

The highs for the week:

Finishing up papers for Graduate School.
Making new friends on my blog.
Finishing four review novels!
Losing one pounds.
Trying to expand my family!
Repurposing three rooms in my home.
Continuing a daily devotional.
The emergence of Spring.
Planting Strawberries and Herbs!

My lows for the week:

Stress from certain family members illness.

My quote for the week:

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” -Plato

My inspiration for the week:

Being able to recycle 90% of my weekly trash!

My humor for the week:

Goals For The Coming Week:

Lose 1 pound, organize my gift closet, finish all papers for this term, walk the dogs 1/2 mile a day, and have all blog assignments done on time!

Happy Sunday!

Battle-Of-The-Bulge, Budget Style: Gardening To Lose Weight!


eating_budget

Hello again, savvy savers! Today I am starting another new blog series, Battle Of The Bulge, Budget-Style! I will be focusing on ways to live a healthier, more active lifestyle while be able to afford clean, organic, obtainable foods! I believe this series can be worthwhile for many, who like myself, wish to get more in shape, not through crash-dieting but by small attainable lifestyle changes!  All of the changes I propose will be free or affordable, and most meals and plans will contain couponed savings or deals! Fads are fancy, but coupons are a commitment! With that said, here is where I am currently: I have a family history of high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer. I am looking to lose 60lbs., find affordable non-gym membership options for working out, and change the way I consume food; this includes meals, snacks, and splurges!

Today I am 31 years young, I am 5’6”, and weigh 198 lbs; I am down one pound since last week. I walk my dogs but beyond this am not terribly active. My lifestyle causes sedentary behaviors; I work-from-home, blog, run two internet businesses, and perform advocacy work online as well. I am an internet-based excuser! Today this changes! Spring has sprung, and so shall I! I have taken up yoga, and have started working out with a pedometer on as well!

Gardening-On-a-Budget-Homesteading-and-Health

For my fifth post, I wanted to discuss a new measure I have implemented to help in my healthier lifestyle choice, gardening! Did you know that according to the American Heart Association, gardening 1 hour daily will burn up to 400 calories, and considering that the average weekend project tales 4-6 hours, and that maintaining your yard weekly, in warmer weather, will take nearly 1 hour a day, you would, on average burn upwards of 2,400 calories a week! An entire days worth of calories! This is a staggering number! For me, I make sure to water the plants, lawn, and mow as often as I can, as its no longer a chore for me, but an exercise! I love that performing tasks for  hobby can lead to better health!

How awesome is that?

Here’s to the Journey!

Battle Of The Bulge, Budget-Style: Monthly Measurements!

 

eating_budget

 

Hello again, savvy savers! Today I am starting another new blog series, Battle Of The Bulge, Budget-Style! I will be focusing on ways to live a healthier, more active lifestyle while be able to afford clean, organic, obtainable foods! I believe this series can be worthwhile for many, who like myself, wish to get more in shape, not through crash-dieting but by small attainable lifestyle changes!  All of the changes I propose will be free or affordable, and most meals and plans will contain couponed savings or deals! Fads are fancy, but coupons are a commitment! With that said, here is where I am currently: I have a family history of high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer. I am looking to lose 60lbs., find affordable non-gym membership options for working out, and change the way I consume food; this includes meals, snacks, and splurges!

Today I am 31 years young, I am 5’6”, and weigh 199 lbs; I am down tw0 pounds since last week. I walk my dogs but beyond this am not terribly active. My lifestyle causes sedentary behaviors; I work-from-home, blog, run two internet businesses, and perform advocacy work online as well. I am an internet-based excuser! Today finds my continued yoga, meditation, walking my dogs, using a pedometer, portioning my meals, and now I also measure myself monthly!

 

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For my fifth post, I wanted to discuss a new lifestyle strategy I have implemented, monthly measurement logs. Using a seamstress tape, I measure my neck, arms, bust, waist, hips, thighs, and calves, then log my progress each month, good or bad, to see a visible result of my diet strategy. I have found this method daunting at first, but now, in my weight lose, find that seeing my actual results, is amazing and euphoric!

I highly recommend pushing your boundaries to the side, and see how you measure up to your own personal, obtainable healthy lifestyle goals!

Here’s to the Journey!

Healthy Lifestyle Series: eMeals!

Hello again, savvy savers! Today I wanted to post again about on of the diet strategies I have implemented into my new diet and healthier lifestyle, eMeals! The folks at eMeals have graciously allowed me to partake in a free one-years subscription of their service, and I will be including these meal options into my current healthy lifestyle strategy, and I also wanted to bring you, my readers, information on their services as well!

Here is an interview-style feature of eMeals.com:

Emeals

eMeals, was founded by Jane DeLaney & Jenny Cochran in 2003. Both Jane and Jenny are  typically very busy moms! Jane was frazzled over trying to pull off dinner for the family week after week. Her meal plans were scribbled on napkins and lost in her purse. So she went to work creating a better way to make meals happen. Jane recruited Jenny, a fabulous cook, and her sister to help her with the everyday operations of the company. Working with a talented team of meal planners, they developed eMeals to feed their families and preserve their sanity. Hundreds of thousands of partnerships, friendships, and business relationships later, Jane and Jenny built a way to make moms’ lives easier, by bringing manageability back to America’s dinner table.

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What is eMeals?

eMeals is an email based service, which offers over 50 weekly meal plans based on a user’s preferred food style, family size, and grocery store. Food styles, or prepared eating habits, include classic meals, clean eating, paleo, simple gourmet, low fat, low carb portion control, natural and organic, vegetarian, gluten-free, slow cooker, and our new 500 calorie plans. eMeals also  provide 7 simple to follow recipes with corresponding grocery lists each week. Meal plans are tied to the weekly sales and seasonal specials at selected grocery store chains. The result is our mass following of loyal customers who save time, money, and their sanity while providing delicious and healthy home cooked meals for their families.

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Can you really save money by using eMeals?

The average eMeals customer says they save around $1,000/year on groceries, and that doesn’t even include all the time they save. And we all know time is money! Over 50% eMeals subscribers have a targeted weekly budget for their grocery spending.  As well, keeping this in mind, eMeals structures meal plans around seasonal specials and in the case of specific stores such as ALDI, Kroger, Publix, Ralphs, Safeway, Target, Walmart, and Whole Foods!

emeals-classic-meal-plan

Does eMeals have any new promotions?

We just released our new 500 calorie plans, a new Publix Portion Control Meal Plan, as well as a new COSTCO Meal Plan. We are always looking to expand our meal plans to what our community tells us they need! We are happy to offer The Lady Prefers To Save readers 15% off with the coupon code DINNER15.

Are you involved in any charity work?

For five years, eMeals has been one of the largest funding sources for the Haiti Nutrition Project which is a program that curtails and reverses severe malnutrition within infants and children in Haiti. This program distributes Medika Mamba, which is a Haitian term for “peanut butter medicine,” a daily food supplement that provides complete nourishment needed for the growth and health of young Haitian children.

What should new customers know about your company?

We are a company based on the ideals of having dinner together as a family. That is such a valuable gift you can give to your children, your spouse, and anyone else that joins you at your table. We want to make it easier to facilitate dinner together as a family where connections and memories are made.

How can your customers get the most out of eMeals?

Sporadic grocery spending and multiple trips to the store is money down the drain. Having a plan, period, is what saves people the most money and controls spending. Having a consistent plan at your fingertips, ready to be shopped at a moments notice is GOLD. In comes eMeals. Forgetting to bring your list to the store is also money down the drain. Eliminating that problem is gold too. In comes the companion eMeals app. Your list is always on your phone – ready when you are.

Useful tips:

1) Determine how many meals you need for the week. There are seven meals on each week’s menu.

2) The app can skip any of the meals you choose to not cook and it will automatically delete those items from the grocery list.

3) Shop your stockpile first and delete items you may already have from the grocery list

4) Be sure to purchase the pantry staples that you may not have that are required for the meals you choose to cook.

5) Stick to the list!

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We also have not only dinner plans, but breakfast, lunch and dessert to help you get all your meals planned out with minimal effort. Use this tool to your advantage!

Is there anything else that you would like for The Lady Prefers To Save readers to know about eMeals?

eMeals is always adding more plans to meet the growing eating lifestyles that emerge. Paleo and Clean Eating are examples of that and happen to be two of our most popular plans! We would love to have The Lady Prefers To Save’s readers sign up for eMeals with the discount code DINNER15 for 15% off.

Here’s to the Journey!

In accordance with FTC Guidelines: I hereby disclose that I received complimentary products from the company being reviewed above, in exchange for my honest opinion and review of my experience.  I was not compensated for this review, but received a free membership. All opinions in the post are 100% my own. Individual results or experiences may vary. Please consult your physician, dietitian, or diabetes specialist before starting any diet. You can obtain more details information about the company, its products, and policies by visiting their respective websites, which will be linked above.

Perfectly Portioned Meal Control!

 

eating_budget

Hello again, savvy savers! Today I am starting another new blog series, Battle Of The Bulge, Budget-Style! I will be focusing on ways to live a healthier, more active lifestyle while be able to afford clean, organic, obtainable foods! I believe this series can be worthwhile for many, who like myself, wish to get more in shape, not through crash-dieting but by small attainable lifestyle changes!  All of the changes I propose will be free or affordable, and most meals and plans will contain couponed savings or deals! Fads are fancy, but coupons are a commitment! With that said, here is where I am currently: I have a family history of high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer. I am looking to lose 60lbs., find affordable non-gym membership options for working out, and change the way I consume food; this includes meals, snacks, and splurges!

Today I am 31 years young, I am 5’6”, and weigh 201 lbs; I am down three pounds since last week. I walk my dogs but beyond this am not terribly active. My lifestyle causes sedentary behaviors; I work-from-home, blog, run two internet businesses, and perform advocacy work online as well. I am an internet-based excuser! Today this changes! Spring has sprung, and so shall I! I have taken up yoga, and have started working out with a pedometer on as well!

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For my fourth post, I wanted to discuss a new measure I have implemented to help in my food portion control, measuring cups. This may sound very rudimentary, but I have found this very effective. I use a 1 and 2 cup pyrex measuring glass to measure out the portions of food I eat each meal at home. I purchased my cups, for free, on Amazon.com using survey-derived gift cards, but similar versions are available at the Dollar Tree.

Here is a guide I use in doing so:

1) Foods that should be served in 1 cup servings: Raw vegetables, cooked or raw fruit,

2)  Food that should be served in 1/4 cup servings: Cooked vegetables, Dried Fruit, Waffles,

3) Foods that should be eaten in 1/2 cup servings: Whole Fruit, Canned Chicken or Tuna, Prepared Salads, Meats, Poultry, Eggs.

4) Foods that should be eaten in 2/3 cup servings: Fruit Juice, Yogurt, Milk, Potatoes, Cereal,

5) Foods that should be eaten in 1/8 cup servings: Cheese, Bread, Pretzels, Potato Chips,

6) Foods that should be eaten in 1/3 cup servings: Rice, Couscous, Quinoa, Cooked Pasta,

7) Foods that should be eaten in 1 teaspoon servings: Oil, Butter, and Spreads.

8) Foods that should be eaten in 1 tablespoon servings: Nuts.

Here’s to the Journey!