Doing a family slimdown was my husbands idea, to lose weight. In case you didn’t know, I just got married two years ago. I love being married I love being a wife and I love my husband!! We both, however, love fish tacos and the chips and the salsa that go with them. Oh and the guacamole. And more chips to go with the guacamole. It all adds up.☝🏼
My go to phrase became “we ate too many fish tacos on the honeymoon” and … fast forward to tighter pants and a need to look at the diet. We were going to a black tie event in Chicago and Jack asked me what I thought about doing a family slimdown.
YES… I will♥️to do a FAMILY SLIMDOWN!!
I would say that we eat clean on the regular. We eat out very infrequently and eat balanced clean and healthy meals. At the same time, a good friend turned me on to a brand of protein powder that I was new to and wanted to try to create some recipes for shakes and protein pudding and maybe protein balls.
This was the beginning of creating our “Family Slimdown.” It is not a Real Thing, I made up the name and had suggested it before the wedding and basically it means: lower your blood sugar by eating balanced meals, less calories and increase exercise daily.
The blood sugar is an invisible one that most people ignore and question why they are unable to lose any weight. If all the pieces are in place, your eating is on point and exercise daily, and there is still no budge to the scale or waistline, chances are you are fighting with high blood sugar and not making the difference in your diet to address the issue keeping the weight from dropping. Diabetes runs in my family, but even if you do not have that, keeping a balanced blood sugar rather than letting it rise and fall and rise and rise is the key to managing weight.
For me, a shake is a good breakfast as I can make and take it with me, but for Jack, I thought bars may be better for snacks. I began researching protein bars to send to work with Jack to help maintain stable blood sugar throughout the day. Protein but also fiber and low sugar were main characteristics I looked for and also not tons of ingredients. We love the bars called ONE protein bars. They come in many flavors, we love Almond Bliss which tastes exactly like my favorite candy bar Almond Joy and Chocolate Brownie about 200 calories, 20g protein, 8g fat, 10g fiber, 1g sugar each.
Another great one is Oh Snap Salted Caramel Pretzel Crispy protein bar .
The Slim Down Recipe…
Breakfast: Three eggs or a Protein Drink ( 6 – 8 oz almond milk and 1 scoop Dymatize protein ) I love Birthday cake flavor, the original my friend let me try, with ice cubes, shake and enjoy. We also love the Fudge Brownie flavor.
Lunch: Small amount (3 – 4 ounces) of meat with vegetables, no starch. Jack takes a “school lunch” which I make in the crock pot and portion to freeze for his school lunches. White chicken chili is his favorite! here 
Dinner: Small 3 – 5 oz lean meat with vegetables. Salad, green beans, asparagus, broccoli, zucchini, avoid starches like potatoes, or eat only half of a sweet potato. All leafy greens are great, including spinach, mixed greens, very light dressing if any. Avocado is wonderful on salad or beside meat. Be sure to drink plenty of water all day too.
A couple of times a week, vegetable should be beans of some kind which are very high in fiber. Pinto, black beans, kidney beans, white beans. You can keep leftover beans to have with your eggs breakfast or school lunch the next day. Fiber will help keep you feeling satiated and also to keep moving the protein through your system.
Snacks: As this is an effort to keep blood sugar level, you will want to try to avoid getting too hungry. Easy right?? The protein will help keep your blood sugar regulated, avoid eating anything without protein. If you want to have some almonds, great, avoid a banana or apple without protein to balance the carbs. I suggest these bars as snacks as they are dense in nutrients without added extra sugars. The first few days will be a little tough if this is a big change for you. Once your blood sugar is normalized, tho, you will feel amazing and be on your way to losing a few or a lot, if that is your goal.
If you find yourself hungry before bed, cut off the end of a bar, 1/3 maybe. It is better than waking up with low blood sugar and having issues. If you are not into bars, eat a spoon of peanut or almond butter.
In six weeks, before our black tie event, I lost six pounds and Jack had lost almost ten. We chose to continue and had our two year anniversary to celebrate, and both our birthdays over the summer, but have now lost almost 30 pounds between us!! I am sure you know the struggle is real and it doesn’t take much to derail a good plan.
This is a guide to help you get on track to a healthy and clean eating plan, one that can become a habit and a lifestyle. This is not to be taken as a prescription and you should pay attention to your body and what you need.
Ask questions and know what you are eating and drinking. If you have questions about our Slimdown, I am happy to answer, let me know in the comments.
Thank you for taking the time to read about our Family Slimdown.
xoxo, Michelle
Do you take collagen?? This is my favorite and it is strawberry flavor and in packets!! here
Did you see my post about a protein shake recipe?? here
Another post using protein powder with chia to make yummy pudding!! here
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