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Shopping at Aldi for the 21-Day Fix, Part 2! {Plus: My Round 3, Week #7 Meal Plan!}

February 24, 2016 By: Jessi2 Comments

This post contains affiliate links.

Aldi 21-Day Fix part 2

Two things to note before you get started!

  • This post is part 2 of this one: Shopping at Aldi for the 21-Day Fix {Plus: My Week #2 Meal Plan!}, so if you want to see other Aldi finds and meal ideas, check out that post!
  • You can also read all of my 21-Day Fix posts here: Living with PCOS: 21-Day Fix/Shakeology, including my results from Round 1 and Round 2, and other meal plans if you need ideas for scrumptious food that is Fix-friendly, like what I shared in my weeks #5 and #6 meal plan post!

I wanted to share what I found at Aldi last weekend (along with pricing) for the start of Round 3 of the 21-Day Fix! I can’t believe I am officially finishing my 7th week on this program. I really thought I’d be lucky to even finish the first 21 days… now here I am, day 46, and pushing to make it to day 63 so I can officially say I have finished 3 rounds on the Fix. It is taking a lot of dedication and focus… and ignoring the Girl Scout Cookies sitting in my pantry.

[Read more…]

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My 21-Day Fix Results {Round 2!}

February 22, 2016 By: Jessi2 Comments

My 21-Day Fix Results {Round 2!}

Right after I completed my first 21-Day Fix (while also going through Follistim), I immediately continued into a 2nd round of the Fix. I had great results on my first round with 5 lbs and 15 inches lost, but I knew it could be better. At first, I wasn’t sure how far I’d go with this thing, but I went ahead and completed a second round!

After my 4th Follistim cycle failed, I knew I needed to recover before attempting to get into that level of infertility treatment again. I also knew that since I wouldn’t be on treatment, my results would be stronger. This time, I wasn’t as irritable, uncomfortable, bruised, and fatigued. I also wasn’t as bloated from the extra hormones.

So, after 6 weeks of eating better, drinking Shakeology, and exercising nearly every single day, here are my 21-Day Fix results for round 2:

21-Day Fix Round 2 Results

[Read more…]

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21-Day Fix Round 2: Weeks #5 and #6 Meal Plan

February 15, 2016 By: Jessi6 Comments

I hope you enjoy my 21-Day Fix meal plan post today! It feels good to be back to blogging after taking last week off. I really needed to take a moment of silence to process everything, and to decide how to move forward on the blog for the months of February & March while I rest before starting Follistim back up again. Thanks for hanging in there with me through my good times and my bad.

Right after I finished my first 21-Day Fix, I rolled right into a second round. I was originally going to slow down after my husband’s birthday, but I felt too good to stop, especially since I had lost 15 inches! When my Follistim cycle failed, I was glad I had continued on the Fix because it meant I had a distraction and something else to work towards. Plus, when you’re frustrated and upset, cardio is a great outlet to release that negative energy.

Oh, and I’m getting too skinny for my skinny jeans, which pretty much rocks.

In all seriousness though, this isn’t just about losing the weight so much as it is getting stronger and healthier for fertility. I’m slightly hoping I’ll be able to be one of those success stories of “I got pregnant while drinking Shakeology!” Not really counting on it, just bein’ real… but I’m still a little bit hopeful, even if it’s only a pin drop of hope.

So, all that to say, here is what I ate last week on the Fix, and what I am eating this week!

21-Day Fix Meal Plan {Round 2}

21-Day Fix Round 2 Meal Plan

[Read more…]

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My 21-Day Fix Results + How it Has Changed Me and Tips if You Want to Try it

February 3, 2016 By: Jessicomment

My 21-Day Fix Results

Sunday was my last day on the 21-Day Fix and I’m thrilled with my results. Due to the fact that I was doing Follistim while on most of the Fix, it really threw a wrench in things in terms of bloating, fluid retention, and so many other things. The fatigue, the irritability, the lack of motivation to eat anything that wasn’t covered in chocolate… I had a lot stacked up against me to fail.

I’m so proud to say that while I’ve only lost 5 lbs, I have lost 15 inches!

15 INCHES!

21-Day Fix Results

To me, 15 inches is a BIG DEAL! Just three weeks, eating better, exercising daily, and I lost 15 inches. I am so proud! I have kept going this week and intend to keep going until Glenn’s birthday (2/8), and will check again at that time, but I feel so good and am very pleased with how well the 21-Day Fix went for me. I haven’t had cheat meals, the only real cheat I had was Saturday night at my sister-in-law’s birthday, and I had the tiniest piece of cake, which I later regretted because it was too sweet after not having much sugar for 3 weeks. Otherwise, I have hung in there strong!

[Read more…]

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Shopping at Aldi for the 21-Day Fix {Plus: My Week #2 Meal Plan!}

January 18, 2016 By: Jessi8 Comments

This post contains affiliate links.

This post is a follow-up to this one: Grocery Shopping for PCOS: How to Shop at Aldi, so please be sure to check it out first if you are wondering about Aldi, how to shop there, and why I love it. This post isn’t sponsored, endorsed, or anything else like that. I just really like Aldi and love to share how it helps me eat healthier for less!

Be sure to check out my other posts related to the 21-Day Fix, including meal planning and my results: Living with PCOS: 21-Day Fix/Shakeology.

Part 2 here: Shopping at Aldi for the 21-Day Fix, Part 2! {Plus: My Round 3, Week #7 Meal Plan!}

Aldi 21-Day Fix

Today, I want to share specifically how I shop at Aldi for the 21-Day Fix, and some of the prices I have found at my local store. I’ll also share my meal plan for Monday-Friday.

Today starts Week 2 of the Fix, and I can’t believe I’m already here. The first week was intense, and dare I say INSANE. By day 3, I was wobbling around the office at work like a pathetic sloth, but a day or so afterward I felt like a whole new person. It’s been a while since I did this much exercise… I’ll be the first to admit that. But now, I feel much more energized and like I can conquer anything!

My Aldi Finds for the 21-Day Fix

So it’s no surprise that I love Aldi, but I love it even more now that they are making a bigger effort to sell more organic and healthy foods. I think most people associate Aldi with packaged junk and cheap food, but it’s greatly misunderstood. Just like any grocery store, they do have a selection of junk, but I’m seeing an even bigger selection of healthy options these days. I always start at Aldi for my shopping, and what I can’t get there, I get elsewhere. When it comes to the 21-Day Fix, Aldi makes it really easy!

Here are some of my Aldi finds over the weekend that are 21-Day Fix friendly:

[Read more…]

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How I’m Preparing my Womb for an IUI and the Two-Week-Wait

October 26, 2015 By: Jessi4 Comments

Today is CD 6 of my first Follistim + IUI cycle, and this morning is my second estrogen check to see how I’m responding to the Follistim. Today’s results will determine whether we need to increase my dosage, maintain, decrease, or do an ultrasound to check on things. In the meantime, while Follistim does its work on my ovaries, I’m taking some natural approaches to thicken the uterine lining and prepare my womb to welcome new life in its midst.

Let me also say that I realize my efforts may be in vain. I could do all of this and still be barren, or miscarry, and it’s not because of anything I did or didn’t do. Only God knows each life before it is conceived, and only He can knit a baby together in my womb {Psalm 139:13}. If we conceive, it’s all His glory, not mine, not a superfood’s, not a regimen, not anyone’s. I just want to make that perfectly clear.

So, all that said, I am doing what I can to honor the body He gave me, and to prepare it for welcoming His creation. Here’s how.

Follistim - Preparing My Womb

[Read more…]

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7 Favorite Uses for Coconut Oil

March 18, 2015 By: Jessi3 Comments

7 Favorite Uses for Coconut Oil

I love coconut oil! It is a major multi-purpose product that is a must have in every home. Unless, of course, you’re allergic to coconut… then you should probably stay far, far away from it.

Coconut oil is naturally antibacterial and anti-fungal. It is a liquid when warm and a solid when cool. It can go back and forth between the two as well, which is pretty cool. It was once harder to find in the average grocery store, but now it seems to be everywhere, which is extremely convenient for those of us who love the stuff!

We use coconut oil for many purposes, but I wanted to snapshot my favorite ways to use it. Some you may already know about, some may be surprises! At any rate, these are my 7 favorite uses for coconut oil!

[Read more…]

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Eating for PCOS: Grilled Eggplant Parmesan {Mozzarella!}

January 21, 2015 By: Jessi5 Comments

Eggplant Parmesan final

I love eggplant parmesan like nobody’s business, but how it is traditionally prepared is SO bad for you. Normally, you bread and fry the eggplant slices in olive oil before layering them between beds of tomato sauce, lots of parmesan and mozzarella cheese, and drizzling with more olive oil. My mom recently made it for our family, and while we all devoured it and it brought back very fond memories of my Grandma Faye, I could literally feel my arteries pulsing with olive oil and cheese. I figured it was time for a revamp since we love eggplant (even Zoey will inhale it!), and it is so easy to find in the grocery store this time of year. I don’t even think it’s in season right now, but man has it been easy to find and they are gorgeous!

[Read more…]

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Grocery Shopping for PCOS: How to Shop at Aldi

January 9, 2015 By: Jessi23 Comments

Grocery Shopping for PCOS - The Aldi Edition

This post contains affiliate links.

Shopping for healthy foods can be really expensive – I’m not sure why things are so backward. Junk food should be expensive, but alas, it’s not. That said, when it comes to shopping health consciously on a budget (especially now that we’re planning a trip to Disney!), I have to rely on Aldi.

Have you ever shopped at Aldi? The idea is so simple:

[Read more…]

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Eating for PCOS and High Cholesterol

November 10, 2014 By: Jessi7 Comments

Lifestyle Changes for PCOS etc

So.

Turning 30 hasn’t exactly been graceful for my husband or me.

We both work for the same company and recently had to complete a biometric screening for insurance purposes. Basically what happens is they check your height and weight so they can calculate BMI, check your blood pressure, and prick your finger to check for some possible health risks. For us, they checked glucose, triglycerides, HDL (good cholesterol), LDL (bad cholesterol), and total cholesterol. I’ve had these screenings done many times in the past, but for him this was a first. I tend to have a history of low HDL, no matter how many greens and healthy veggies I get in me, my HDL never gets where it should be. Overall though, my cholesterol is generally perfectly fine. My only red flag in the past has been blood pressure, and of course this day was no different. Apparently I have “hypertension”.

Nice, right?

I did had high triglycerides, but everything else cholesterol wise checked out perfectly fine.

My husband, on the other hand, has terrible cholesterol… and we had NO idea. For one, it’s really difficult for him to gain weight. He’s always been really lean and fit, and eats like crazy. He never goes to the doctor, rarely gets sick, and overall has had a pretty clean bill of health.

Until now.

This all means we no longer have just me to think about when it comes to how we eat, but we have to closely monitor him. And this also means what applies to me with diet and PCOS also applies to him. This probably sounds like we don’t take Zoey into consideration at all, but let me make it pretty clear that we do. That child eats healthy. She’d rather eat cherry tomatoes, blueberries and carrots for a meal over most things any day. But at the end of the day, she doesn’t have symptoms to control like we do, so that is what I mean.

So what changes are we making?

Well, for starters, we had to figure out where all the cholesterol comes from. It looks to be primarily animal products and by products… meat, eggs, dairy products. Okay, that said, with his body type he really needs a high protein diet and we have no desire to go vegan. Power to those who are, it’s just not for us. He can not afford to lose weight. His BMI is already close to underweight… ugh. So while there is cholesterol in meat, we had to look at what else we eat that doesn’t digest and break down as well, and affects your overall wellbeing. We started looking at our carb and sugar consumption. We weren’t that bad with carbs, but we did have one with every meal. And after talking to some other folks who have been diagnosed with high cholesterol, it became increasingly clear that the cholesterol count on a package is not where all your cholesterol comes from… it comes from how you eat in general. Some people with high cholesterol go paleo and eat all the meat they want, but cut out grains, sugar and dairy. One person in particular that I know completely healed himself just making that change, and he does not have to live on cholesterol medication. He eats all the meat and veggies he wants.

Ya’ll know how I am about supplementing and using food to our benefit when it comes to healing and proper body function, so to me, this was a no brainer. We need to eat better not only for me, but for him. And it’s not like we ate that poorly before, but when your husband prefers to eat frozen burritos for lunch nearly every day over a salad, it’s no wonder his cholesterol is high. It certainly wasn’t coming from MY cooking. Our dinners were decent. But he doesn’t eat breakfast very often and definitely wasn’t helping himself with those burritos.

In general, we have cut back a lot on our processed carb/gluten intake and we’ve drastically increased our vegetable consumption. We also completely cut out soda and he’s drinking more water. So instead of a carb, veggie and protein as our dinner, we’re doing protein and 2 different veggies. We are still taking in some carb, but we’re choosing things that are easier to digest and have other benefits, like fiber and protein (quinoa), instead of just empty carbs like you get from pasta and white rice. We’ve also cut back on dairy unless it’s low fat or skim milk based, but we do still take in some. Goat cheese for the win – it’s one of the lowest cholesterol diary options available!

Here’s what our meals look like this week:

Breakfast

Green Monster Smoothies

Greek yogurt (17g protein) with coconut granola (10g protein) and fruit

Lunch

Avocado tuna salad (using avocado in place of mayo) in romaine leaves or whole grain wraps

Salad in a jar with grilled chicken, tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, chickpeas, edamame and baby spinach

Snacks

Fruit: bananas, apples, grapes

Skim milk mozzarella cheese sticks

KIND bars (gluten free)

Roasted red pepper hummus w/ baby carrots or gluten free brown rice crackers

Baked vegetable chips

Dinners

Stuffed bell peppers with lean beef, quinoa (little bit), and tomatoes

Grilled lemon thyme salmon with sauteed portobello mushrooms and roasted broccoli

Baked chicken breast with sauteed kale and butternut quash

Grilled lemon pepper tilapia with roasted asparagus and carrots

Sauteed diced chicken breasts with roasted brussel sprouts and sauteed portobello mushrooms

So that’s our start. We’re making a few tweaks here and there without going cold turkey on everything so we don’t set ourselves up for failure. We’re not doing some fancy detox or making an extreme change, but we’re doing some things that I think will help bring his levels down where they need to be. We’re getting lean proteins and lots of vitamins from some pretty great veggies, plus plenty of extra fiber and heart healthy omega-3 between the fish we’re eating and the ground flax I’ve been sneaking in to things. 😉

Do you have any other suggestions for us?

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