Tuesday Tips

Good Evening!

Yes, I am an evening blogger. Sorry :-/ And no, I can't wrap my brain around scheduling a morning post the night before...just doesn't make sense to me!

Before I get into Tuesday Tips, let's give a quick recap on Spend Less September! Today I brought in my own coffee to work! Yes, brewed just how I like it in my reusable travel mug. No more spending money at Starbucks ($2.43 a pop) or McDonalds ($1.08 or whatnot) each day. I just have to buy a big ol' thing of coffee every few weeks and I'm golden! I'm trying to cut back on my sugar free flavorings, so that will save me some money too and help in the health department. I also packed lunch and did not buy a diet coke, even though I was craving it like none other. Again, good for the wallet, good for the health. My boss asked if anyone wanted to go grab lunch today. As much as I love good company for lunch, I declined and ate my packed lunch. Seeing a trend here? Good for wallet, good for health!

Here is my tip of the day: Go to the Grocery store early in the morning or late at night. My new routine is going to Bar Method early on Saturday morning, then heading over to Smith's. Grocery stores will mark down product that will expire in the next day or so, and you can get it for super cheap! I know you might think "eww gross, expired food!" But the thing is, it's not expired!!! I wanted just a bit of milk last week so I could make sugar-free pudding. I didn't want to spend the almost $4 on lowcarb milk, because I don't like drinking milk and it would go bad. Instead, I paid $1.77 for low carb milk I had to use within 4 days. I didn't use it all, but I definitely used $1.77 worth! Winning! Same thing for meat. You can definitely get good cuts of meat for cheap. Same with veggies! I love buying the pre-cut tray of veggies when they have about a day or 2 left. Super cheap, perfectly portioned, and I can just throw them in salads or have something to munch on. That is my tip of the day!

Dinner today was just leftover chicken and zucchini. It was super tasty and I love how healthy it felt. I'm glad I'm getting back into eating more lean meats and veggies. Oh wait. I lied. My chicken was dry from it being leftover then over microwaved (whoops) so I decided to add some salsa for moisture. Then I saw the packet of ranch dressing eyeing me in the fridge. Slutty ranch, wants to make me curvier. I caved! The only "brightside" of it was that I only ate about 1.5 oz of the 2oz in there. Sigh....still not good. Ranch is sooooo fatty! Other than that, I enjoyed my healthy dinner. Hey...there is another Spend Less September tip! Don't buy ranch dressing!!! Save yourself the money AND health. BAM. Love it!

Warning! Soapbox: That was the best/worst thing when I went uber healthy last year. (No worries, an "about me" post will explain this all in the near future). I was miffed that I had to spend so much more money on healthy food, but then my health coach (HC) (hahahaha omg Big E I hope you are dying laughing on that reference) err sorry...side tracked...HC made two important points on spending money on healthy food. 1) You aren't buying cheap crap anymore. The amount I spent on cheap crap is going into healthy food. It balances out. 2) Even if I am shelling out slightly more for healthy food, it is much better in the long run. Do I want to be a mom not being able to ride on roller coasters with my kids because I can't sit in the seats? No. (True life experience). I want to be healthy and fit in the long run, so it is worth it to spend a bit more on healthy food than it is on crap. Needless to say, I'm willing to skimp on other things to eat healthy. Now I just have to cut out the crap completely or else....is it really worth it? (YES! Always yes to swap a bit of crap for some health!)

Alright, I am done with the soapbox! No pics today, sorry to disappoint. An update on my lip (did I even mention my skunk lip?) Still burned. But now, it is dark and discolored, instead of white. Joy!

Today I: Ran/Walked for 36 minutes/2.94 miles
Today I: Ate 1226 Calories, 113g Protein, and stayed in my target Carb/Fat range (except I'm craving a salty snack. Let's add another Claussen pickle slice and hopefully avoid mindless munching on mixed nuts)

Goodnight my lovelies!